Field investigation of temporal variation and diffusion of hydrogen sulfide on waste working face and intermediate landfill cover

Abstract

This paper presents the study on the variation, influencing factors and diffusion regularity of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentration and surface flux on the working face and intermediate geomembrane cover of a landfill. Field investigations were conducted using static chambers at a large-scale municipal solid waste landfill in Hangzhou, China, from January 2019 to June 2021. The analytical models of H2S transport in the working face and intermediate cover were developed to investigate the surface flux under various conditions. The CALPUFF model was used to demonstrate the diffusion path. The H2S surface flux on the working face ranged from 7.1 × 10−3 to 1.7 mg/m2/h, whereas the range was found to be 1.5 × 10−4 to 0.9 mg/m2/h on the intermediate geomembrane cover. This observation indicated that the geomembrane can reduce H2S emissions. In addition, the H2S surface fluxes at the HDPE GMB seams and near the gas collecting wells were generally 1–2 orders of magnitude larger than that in the intact GMB. The analytical model estimates that the intact GMB exhibits a diffusion coefficient of H2S ranging from 2.7 × 10−11 to 2.2 × 10−10 m2/s. However, the diffusion coefficient increases significantly to a range of 3.3 × 10−11–9.8 × 10−7 m2/s on the GMB seams. According to CALPUFF results, only the H2S diffusion from the working face had areas exceeding the standard concentration.