PROPER BIO-COVERS TO ENHANCE METHANE OXIDATION FINDINGS FROM A TWO YEAR FIELD TRIAL

摘要

Misdirected waste management strategies, especially landfill measures, can be blamed for contributing to the greenhouse effect. Landfills rank third in terms of sources of anthropogenic methane worldwide, due to methane which escapes gas collection on sanitary landfills and because of methane emissions from old, small or open dumps that do not have any gas extraction. One supplementary practical method may be to enhance the natural potential of microbial methane oxidation by creating proper landfill covers. Field trials have shown that bio-covers made of compost can achieve a high level of methane removal, up to 90―100 % of the gas produced or emitted. This paper describes the lessons learned from research on methane oxidation at two Austrian landfills, in particular with regard to the proper design of such bio-covers and the suitable quality of the compost. Furthermore, initial findings on water accumulation and leachate generation in these bio-covers are illustrated.