A FIELD STUDY OF METHANE EMISSIONS FROM LANDFILLS IN SEMI-ARID CLIMATIC REGIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA

摘要

In the semi-arid climatic conditions of the South African interior most landfills are perennially moisture deficient. The graded landfill standards developed in South Africa do not call for installation of impervious barriers to leachate percolation and biogas emissions from landfills situated in these regions because it is anticipated that these emissions will bot be significant. In order to ascertain the availability of moisture and the extent of biodegradation occurring within such landfills, methane emissions from a number of sites were measured. This paper reports on and discusses the results obtained from the field measurement program and compares them with the level of methane emissions predicted by modeling. It also examines the long term implications of landfilling under moisture deficient conditions.