Field test of infrared thermography applied to biogas controlling in landfill sites

摘要

The gases accumulated inside the landfill as result of the fermentation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) known as biogas, are taking into consideration all possible uses as direct transformation into electricity. The system for collecting, regulating and controlling the biogas must include all the necessary safety features where the biogas leakage presents a high impact. Infrared thermography can be use to detect gas leakages due to the differences in temperature between the gas and the immediate surroundings. This method is able to monitor a wide area of landfill sites, quickly. This technology will not be effective if the differences in temperature are not better than five degrees. This paper describes a field test conducted to study the limitations of the infrared thermography caused by weather conditions and the moment of day or/and season when the thermal images was captured. Pipelines, borders, cells, covers, slopes and leakage (hot spots) are studied and optimum conditions are defined.