Landfill Gas Management: A Roadmap for EREF Directed Research

Landfill gas, consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and numerous trace organic compounds, is a natural product of anaerobic decomposition of waste in landfills.  While the production of landfill gas (LFG) is well documented, our understanding of the myriad of factors involved in LFG production, collection, fugitive emissions, and attenuation in landfill covers is lacking.  As a result, landfill owners are unable to:

-predict LFG production rates and their variation with landfill operation (dry tomb vs. bioractor),
-precisely specify the fraction of the generated gas that is collected,
-quantitatively specify the generation and release of trace organic compounds (non-methane organic compounds [NMOCs] and hazardous air pollutants; and quantitatively account for their attenuation in landfill covers, and
-eliminate sources and causes of odors that result from waste decomposition and the presence of NMOCs and HAPs.

Publications/Reports
Final Report