Performance of food-waste compost biocovers in mitigating methane emission from landfills

Abstract

This paper presents results of an experimental program that was employed to investigate performance of biocovers made of food-waste compost in mitigating methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills in a semi-dry environment. Five experimental columns containing biocover materials made of compost mixed with landfill intermediate cover soil at different compost/soil mixture ratios were exposed to methane inflow under ambient temperature over a period of three months. Methane removal efficiencies were determined based on methane content measurements using gas chromatography (GC), bacterial count and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) performed on biocover samples over time. The biocover materials made of 70% compost and 30% soil demonstrated significantly higher methane removal efficiencies compared to other mixtures measuring an emission reduction of about 63%. The compost type and composition were also found to affect methane removal efficiency of biocover materials. These findings can be used for selection of compost type and compost-soil mixture ratio as biocovers materials.