BIOCOVER COMPOSITION IMPACT ON LANDFILL METHANE EMISSIONS REDUCTION

Solid municipal waste landfills are the third largest source of man-made methane emissions. Methane is one of the greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. The capture of methane emissions in the waste sector is addressed by collecting it and using it for energy production. Methane emissions from active or closed landfills can be reduced by methane oxidation, which is developed as a covering over these landfills. It is usually composed of a gas distribution layer that favours micro-organisms that consume methane. The aim of this study is to find the most appropriate composition of the biocover in which filling material waste is used. In laboratory conditions, an experiment was conducted that studied the effectiveness of the biocover developed in the laboratory. Three experimental columns were created at a height of 160 mm and 1500 mm. A active compost saturated with water at a thickness of 500 mm was used as a source of methane, a permeable layer of sand at a thickness of 300 mm was further formed and finally covered with biocover. The biocover was composed of 60% of fine fraction waste, 20% soil and 20% compost, of the total volume. The experiment was created on 6 June 2022 and the first measurements were made two weeks later with CRDS equipment Picarro G2508. Measurements were made weekly for 4 months. The results of the study show that methane is released more forcefully after the first two months of application of the biocover. This is related to compost in the biocover, which has started to decompose actively, that methane oxidising micro-organisms develop on average after two months.