Understanding Active Face Emissions Drivers with Continuous Monitoring

Grantees: Greg Rieker, M. Hannigan, S. Coburn, E. Coffey, E. Miller, and G. Cortes – University of Colorado Boulder; J. Casey – Fort Lewis College
Amount: $179,964
Project Duration: 2 years

The active face, where waste is deposited and compacted, can be a significant source of landfill methane emissions. Questions remain about whether those emissions come from newly deposited waste or buried waste beneath the working area, and how gas collection practices influence their release.

This project will continuously monitor methane at an operating landfill as its active face moves from an area above mature waste to a new cell and gas collection infrastructure expands. Existing laser monitoring systems will measure methane above the working area, while modeling and weather data will be used to estimate emission rates. Researchers will pair those estimates with records of active face locations, gas collection flows, and well installations.

The study aims to clarify the operational factors associated with active area emissions and provide a longer-term context for short-duration airborne measurements. Findings could help operators evaluate gas collection strategies and improve understanding of how emissions change during landfill development.