Methane oxidation biosystem in landfill fugitive emissions using conventional cover soil and compost as alternative substrate—a field study

Yankha Myllena Da Silva Van Tienen,Kelly Geronazzo Martins,Erivélton César Stroparo,Gabriel Menon De Lima,Waldir Nagel Schirmer,Douglas Luiz Mazur

doi:10.1007/s10098-021-02179-9

Yankha Myllena Da Silva Van Tienen, Kelly Geronazzo Martins + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02179-9

Copy DOI

Abstract

Landfill is an important anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases (GHG). Aiming at methane mitigation through the use of a cover layer in the form of fugitive emissions, this study investigated the methane passive bio-oxidation in a Brazilian landfill in biofilters under two conditions: control column (packing material using only landfill cover soil with ≅ 0.8% organic matter) and enriched column (packing material using 45 cm landfill cover soil and 15 cm mixture of cover soil plus compost with ≅ 6% organic matter). Biogas was collected from a vertical drain pipe of a four-year-old cell and injected into the base of the columns with a high inlet loading (1000 gCH4.m−2.d−1) in upward flow mode. Ten campaigns were carried out for six months in order to determine the efficiency of the methane oxidation in each column. Soil temperature, moisture and nutrients content in both filter beds were also determined. The oxidation global efficiencies were higher in the enriched column throughout all campaigns, with ≈71 and ≈95% for the control and enriched columns, respectively, demonstrating that this technology can be applied even in landfills where there is no energy recovery from biogas (as in most landfills in developing countries). Our study demonstrated that the use of substrates with high organic matter content and low cost in landfill cover layers might present high efficacy in the reduction in methane fugitive emissions. Even operating in field-scale conditions, the results of this study were comparable to those obtained with biofilters on laboratory-scale (under controlled operational conditions).

Highlights

In Brazil, as well as in other developing countries, landfills are still the main destination of municipal solid wastes (MSW)
Our study demonstrated that the use of substrates with high organic matter content and low cost in landfill cover layers might present high efficacy in the reduction of methane fugitive emissions
The biogas biological oxidation in the landfill cover is a way of mitigating fugitive emissions recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Bogner et al 2007) and it is applicable to both landfills that have some energy recovery technology and smaller or older landfills, where the methane production is too low, which makes its recovery unfeasible (Huber-Humer et al 2009)

Summary

Introduction

In Brazil, as well as in other developing countries, landfills are still the main destination of municipal solid wastes (MSW). The biogas biological oxidation in the landfill cover is a way of mitigating fugitive emissions recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Bogner et al 2007) and it is applicable to both landfills that have some energy recovery technology and smaller or older landfills, where the methane production is too low, which makes its recovery unfeasible (Huber-Humer et al 2009) In this case, methanotrophic bacteria use methane as carbon and energy sources, transforming it into carbon dioxide, water and biomass (Tanthachoon et al 2007; Widory et al 2012). Organic matter-rich substrates such as composts (resulting from the decomposition of organic waste), enable the optimization of the oxidation process (Abichou et al 2009), since in addition to promoting water retention and greater aeration of the medium, they favor microbial growth, pH neutralization, temperature maintenance, reduction in gas permeability and increase in gas retention time in the landfill cover layer (Huber-Humer et al 2009; Scheutz et al 2009)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion