Gaseous Emissions at Landfill Sites with technical Barrier and Methane Oxidation Cover

Over the course of ten years, experiences with the long-term pattern of diffuse gaseous emissions by landfills were collected and the methods for sampling and representation of emissions refined. In this context we have developed and optimized a 1 m² sampling box for fugitive area emission sources which is shown in this presentation. The measured emissions were observed to be significantly less than the freights predicted by theoretical models (e.g. Rettenberger & Tabassaran). The actual emission situation showed to depend strongly on the construction of the landfill’s perimeter, the design of openings in the landfill’s cover, mechanical deterioration of the landfill’s cover, efficiency of the gas extraction system and the stability of the gas extraction flow. An additional layer of soil or compost on top of the technical cover proved to reduce the amount of methane emitted by minor leakage noticeably. Given an uniform distribution of emissions across the surface area, Methane oxidation layers are beneficial for reducing the amount of gas emitted by (temporarily) closed sections of the landfill and in the late phase of the methan formation cycle when the amount or quality of the generated gas is insufficient for burning or flaring.