Effect of bio-column composed of aged refuse on methane abatement – A novel configuration of biological oxidation in refuse landfill

An experimental bio-column composed of aged refuse was installed around the exhaust pipe as a new way to mitigate methane in refuse landfill.One of the objectives of this work was to assess the effect of aged refuse thickness in bio-column on reducing CH 4 emissions.Over the study period,methane oxidation was observed at various thicknesses,5 cm (small size),10 cm (middle size) and 15 cm (large size),representing one to three times of pipeline diameters.The middle and large size both showed over 90% methane conversion,and the highest methane conversion rate of above 95% occurred in the middle-size column cell.Michaelis-Menten equation addressed the methanotrophs diffusion in different layers of the bio-columns.Maximum methanotrophic activity (V max) measured at the three thicknesses ranged from 6.4 × 10 3 to 15.6 × 10 3 units,and the half-saturation value (K M) ranged from 0.85% to 1.67%.Both the highest V max and K M were observed at the middle-size of the bio-column,as well as the largest methanotrophs population,suggesting a significant efficiency of methane mitigation happened in the optimum zone with greatest affinity and methanotrophic bacteria activities.Therefore,bio-column is a potential style for methane abatement in landfill,and the aged refuse both naturally formed and artificially placed in the column plays a critical role in CH 4 emission.

Effect of bio-column composed of aged refuse on methane abatement - A novel configuration of biological oxiation in refuse landfill

An experimental bio-column composed of aged refuse was installed around the exhaust pipe as a new way to mitigate methane in refuse landfill. One of the objectives of this work was to assess the effect of aged refuse thickness in bio-column on reducing CH₄ emissions. Over the study period, methane oxidation was observed at various thicknesses, 5 cm (small size), 10 cm (middle size) and 15 cm (large size), representing one to three times of pipeline diameters. The middle and large size both showed over 90% methane conversion, and the highest methane conversion rate of above 95% occurred in the middle-size column cell. Michaelis-Menten equation addressed the methanotrophs diffusion in different layers of the bio-columns. Maximum methanotrophic activity (V_max) measured at the three thicknesses ranged from 6.4 × 10⁻³ to 15.6 × 10³ units, and the half-saturation value (K^M) ranged from 0.85% to 1.67%. Both the highest V_max and K_M were observed at the middle-size of the bio-column, as well as the largest methanotrophs population, suggesting a significant efficiency of methane mitigation happened in the optimum zone with greatest affinity and methanotrophic bacteria activities. Therefore, bio-column is a potential style for methane abatement in landfill, and the aged refuse both naturally formed and artificially placed in the column plays a critical role in CH₄ emission.