Abstract
Monitoring waste disposal sites is important to check that the produced biogas, potentially explosive, is properly collected by the biogas extraction system of the landfill site and to evaluate the residual biogas flow escaping from upper surface of the landfill. As the biogas migrates to the surface, the soil through which it flows is expected to reach a higher temperature than the surrounding environment; thus, measuring the thermal footprint of the landfill soil surface could allow the detection of biogas leakages and spots suitable for the gas extraction. Close-range aerial infrared thermography is an innovative approach able to identify thermal anomalies with a good resolution over a large region of the landfill surface. A simple procedure to deduce the biogas flow rate emerging from the soil into the atmosphere, based on infrared thermography measurements, is presented. The approach has been applied to a case study concerning a large landfill located in Genoa (Italy). Aerial infrared photographs taken during different days and seasons showed the presence of thermal anomalies over regions along the peripheral boundary of the landfill still not interested in biogas extraction.
Highlights
Solid wastes collected in urban landfills contain a significant percentage of organic substances whose degradation produces a large amount of biogas that, due to its large methane content, is a precious energy source with high global warming potential
Infrared thermography (IRT) has been applied to the study of biogas leakages from waste disposal sites. This diagnostic tool permits the identification of thermal anomalies on the landfill surface related to the biogas digestion processes
The implementation of this technique, whose applications in landfills documented in the literature are mainly based either on ground or aircraft inspections, consists in the use of unmanned flight vehicles (UAVs) to take infrared (IR) images of the landfill surface
Summary
Application of close-range aerial infrared thermography to detect landfill gas emissions: a case study. This content has been downloaded from IOPscience. You may be interested in: An improved SIFT algorithm in the application of close-range Stereo image matching Xuehua Zhang, Xiaoqing Wang, Xiaoxiang Yuan et al The Increasing of Air and Biogas Mixer Instrument for Generating Friendly Environmental Electricity Power Ni Ketut Lasmi, Alamta Singarimbun and Wahyu Srigutomo A review on palm oil mill biogas plant wastewater treatment using coagulation-ozonation Z D Dexter, C G Joseph and A Y Zahrim The Development of Mini Portable Digester Designs for Domestic and Restaurant Solid Waste Processing to be Clean Biogas as Energy's Alternative to Replace LPG A Mansur, D Janari dan and N Setiawan Infrared thermography and ultrasonics to evaluate composite materials for aeronautical applications S Boccardi, N D Boffa, G M Carlomagno et al Biogas from manure represents a huge potential for reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions K Thøy, H Wenzel, Anders Peter Jensen et al Role of landfills in increasing greenhouse gases emission: Case study: Tehran landfills methan emission rate, measure by landgem model Leila Ahmadi, S Boudaghpour and A Ahmadi Effective monitoring of landfills: flux measurements and thermography enhance efficiency and reduce environmental impact Raffaele Battaglini, Brunella Raco and Andrea Scozzari
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