Landfills Emit Greenhouse Gases?
Abderrahim Lakhouit*
University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
Submission: October 30, 2018; Published: November 26, 2018
*Corresponding author: Abderrahim Lakhouit, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
How to cite this article: Abderrahim Lakhouit. Landfills Emit Greenhouse Gases?. Int J Environ Sci Nat Res. 2018; 15(2): 555909. DOI: 10.19080/IJESNR.2018.15.555909.
Introduction
Actually, and with development economical and industrial, the waste disposal represents a serious problem if biogas emissions are not controlled [1]. Broadly, landfills are the most common, simple and economic methods to dispose the wastes [2]. The term ‘landfill’ is used herein to describe a unit operation for final disposal of MSW on land [3]. The cheapest method, in term of exploitation and capital cost, is landfilling comparatively with other methods (incineration, composting,..., etc) [4,5]. This method produces biogas emissions into the atmosphere. Decomposition of solid wastes may cause environmental problems, more especially if the biogas emissions are not controlled. Biogas is the pollutant that is characteristic of municipal solid wastes (MSW) landfills [6,7]. Over the last decade much attention has been paid to the biogas emitted by MSW landfills. MSW contains hazardous substances, vehicle maintenance products, mercury-containing waste, certain detergents, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, garden pesticides, batteries and many other industrial wastes [8]. Landfill biogas (LFG) is produced by microbial degradation of organic matter under anaerobic conditions [9,10]. Biogas is produced in different environments such as:
i) In sewage sludge,
ii) In biowaste digesters during anaerobic degradation of organic materials, and
iii) In landfills [11].
Biogas production depends on the wastes features and age, the available organic biodegradable carbon content and climatic conditions [12]. The LFG content is typically composed of 55-65% v/v methane, 40-45% v/v carbon dioxide, 5-15% v/v nitrogen and 1% v/v for trace compounds (VOCs and odorant compounds) [13-20]. According to [11], amounts of VOCs and odorants compounds are low compared to methane. The methane effects on climate change are the reason for concern over its high growth rate [21]. Methane has a global warming potential that estimates to be 23 times greater than that of carbon dioxide [22,23]. According to IPCC (2001), more than 10% of methane originates from MSW landfills. According to Wuebbles & Hayhoe [21], besides carbon dioxide and water vapor, methane is the most abundant and reactive greenhouse gas in the atmosphere [21]. The formation of formaldehyde (CH2O), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O3) in the troposphere is due to the oxidation of methane by hydroxyl (OH) in the presence of NOx in sufficiently high level. Furthermore, in the stratosphere methane can affect the concentrations of both water vapor and ozone [21]. Both methane and trace compounds (VOCs and odorant compounds) reduce the quality of air local [11]. Some VOCs despite their low concentrations may exert
Conclusion
According to the literature mentioned above, the landfill is a source of gases. These gases are:
a) CO2
b) CH4
c) VOC
d) Odorants compounds
These compounds (carbon dioxide, methane, and some volatile organic compounds) are considered as a greenhouse gases. These gases can affect negatively our atmosphere, environment, human health, and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
References
- Mnif S, Zayen A, Karray F, Bru Adan V, Loukil S, et al. (2012) Microbial population changes in anaerobic membrane bioreactor treating landfill leachate monitored by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of 16S rDNA gene fragments. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 73: 50-59.
- Erses AS, Onay TT, Yenigun O (2008) Comparison of aerobic and anaerobic degradation of municipal solid waste in bioreactor landfills. Bioresource Technology 99(13): 5418-5426.
- Rafizul IM, Alamgir M (2012) Characterization and tropical seasonal variation of leachate: Results from landfill lysimeter studied. Waste Management 32(11): 2080-2095.
- Lema JM, Mendez R, Blazquez R (1988) Characteristics of landfill leachates and alternatives for their treatment: A review. Water Air, & Soil Pollution 40(3-4): 223-250.
- Renou S, Givaudan JG, Poulain S, Dirassouyan F, Moulin P (2008) Landfill leachate treatment: Review and opportunity. Journal of Hazardous Materials 150(3): 468-493.
- Manna L, Zanetti MC, Genon G (1999) Modeling biogas production at landfill site. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 26(1):1-14.
- Aronica S, Bonanno A, Piazza V, Pignato L, Trapani S (2009) Estimation of biogas produced by the landfill of Palermo, applying a Gaussian model. Waste Management 29(1): 233-239.
- Slack RJ, Gronow JR, Voulvoulis N (2005) Household hazardous waste in municipal landfills: contaminants in leachate. Science of the Total Environment 337(1-3): 119-137.
- Chiriac R, Carre J, Perrodin Y, Fine L, Letoffe JM (2007) Characterisation of VOCs emitted by open cells receiving municipal solid waste. Journal of Hazardous Materials 149(2): 249-263
- Beylot A, Villeneuve J, Bellenfant G (2012) Life Cycle Assessment of landfill biogas management: Sensitivity to diffuse and combustion air emissions. Waste management 33(2): 401-411.
- Rasi S, Veijanen A, Rintala J (2007) Trace compounds of biogas from different biogas production plants. Energy 32(8): 1375-1380
- Desideri U, Di Maria F, Leonardi D, Proietti S (2003) Sanitary landfill energetic potential analysis: a real case study. Energy Conversion and Management 44(12): 1969-1981
- Schweigkofler M, Niessner R (1999) Determination of siloxanes and VOC in landfill gas and sewage gas by canister sampling and GC-MS/ AES analysis. Environmental Science and Technology 33(20): 3680- 3685.
- Shin HC, Park JW, Park K, Song HC (2002) Removal characteristics of trace compounds of landfill gas by activated carbon adsorption. Environmental Pollution 119(2): 227-236.
- Albanna M, Fernandes L, Warith M (2007) Methane oxidation in landfill cover soil the combined effects of moisture content, nutrient addition, and cover thickness. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science 6(2): 191-200.
- Tassi F, Montegrossi G, Vaselli O, Liccioli C, Moretti S, et al. (2009) Degradation of C2-C15 volatile organic compounds in a landfill cover soil. Science of the Total Environment 407(15): 4513-4525.
- Durmusoglu E, Taspinar F, Karademir A (2010) Health risk assessment of BTEX emissions in the landfill environment. Journal of Hazardous Materials 176(1-3): 870-877.
- Rasi S, Läntelä J, Rintala J (2011) Trace compounds affecting biogas energy utilisation A review. Energy Conversion and Management 52(12): 3369-3375
- Johari A, Ahmed SI, Hashim H, Alkali H, Raml M (2012) Economic and environmental benefits of landfill gas from municipal solid waste in Malaysia. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16(5): 2907- 2912.
- Ménard C, Ramirez AA, Nikiema J, Heitz M (2012) Biofiltration of methane and trace gases from landfills: A review. Environmental Reviews 20: 40-53.
- Wuebbles DJ, Hayhoe K (2002) Atmospheric methane and global change. Earth-Science Reviews 57(3-4): 177-210.
- IPCC (2001) Climate Change 2001. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
- Themelis NJ, Ulloa PA (2007) Methane generation in landfills. Renewable Energy 32: 1243-1257.
- Dolk H, Vrijheid M, Armstrong B, Abramsky L, Bianchi F, et al. (1998) Risk of congenital anomalies near hazardous-waste landfill sites in Europe: the EUROHAZCON study. The Lancet 352(9126): 423-427.
- Mohan R, Spiby J, Leonardi GS, Robins A, Jefferis S (2006) Sustainable waste management in the UK: the public health role. Public Health 120(10): 908-914.
- Pohl HR, Tarkowski S, Buczynska A, Fay M, De Rosa CT (2008) Chemical exposures at hazardous waste sites: Experiences from the United States and Poland. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 25(3): 283-291.
- Allen MR, Braithwaite A, Hills CC (1997) Trace organic compounds in landfill gas at seven U.K. waste disposal sites. Environmental Science & Technology 31(4): 1054-1061.
- Jaffrin A, Bentounes N, Joan AM, Makhlouf S (2003) Landfill Biogas for heating Greenhouses and providing Carbon Dioxide Supplement for Plant Growth. Biosystems Engineering 86(1): 113-123.