Modeling the final phase of landfill gas generation from long-term observations

Abstract

For waste management, methane emissions from landfills and their effect on climate change are of serious concern. Current models for biogas generation that focus on the economic use of the landfill gas are usually based on first order chemical reactions (exponential decay), underestimating the long-term emissions of landfills. The presented study concentrated on the curve fitting and the quantification of the gas generation during the final degradation phase under optimal anaerobic conditions. For this purpose the long-term gas generation (240-1,830 days) of different mechanically biologically treated (MBT) waste materials was measured. In this study the late gas generation was modeled by a log-normal distribution curve to gather the maximum gas generation potential. According to the log-normal model the observed gas sum curve leads to higher values than commonly used exponential decay models. The prediction of the final phase of landfill gas generation by a fitting model provides a basis for CO(2) balances in waste management and some information to which extent landfills serve as carbon sink.

Assessment of a residual municipal solid waste landfill for prospective ‘landfill mining’

“…Processes taking place inside of the landfill have not been examined here, but this observation indicates that biodegradation must have happened, because most of the high bio content of the deposited RMSW had disappeared or degraded into the fine (<20 mm) fraction. Landfill gas generation is a consequence of the biodegradation and this observation is consistent with landfill gas prognosis models in the literature (Faitli et al, 2017; Tabasaran and Rettenberger, 1987; Tintner et al, 2011). The introduction of the separate collection of green wastes further decreased the quantity of bio-materials in the landfill.…”

Treatment of landfill waste, leachate and landfill gas: A review

“…The two most common models used are the EPA model [118][119][120][121][122], and the IPCC model [123][124][125][126]. The EPA model can underestimate the production of LFG [127,128], making the choice of the parameters in the model critical. The IPCC model can be effective but the model parameters have to be chosen with consideration [126].…”

The Human Right to Water in Law and Implementation

“…A slum dweller near Istanbul lost several relatives, when gas from a nearby waste dump exploded. The right to life was violated, as authorities neglected this danger ( [321] for landfill gas production); they should have evacuated the slum [322].…”