Biocover performance in mitigating fugitive methane emission from municipal solid waste landfills in cold climate

最近地球气候的变化目前被认为与大气组成的变化有关。这种变化主要归因于产生温室气体(GHG)的人为活动。甲烷(CH4)是造成气候变化的最大温室气体之一。城市固体废物(MSW)填埋场被认为是人为甲烷排放的主要来源之一，约占北美人造甲烷排放量的35%。减少垃圾填埋场的甲烷排放是控制温室气体和全球变暖的有效途径。 减少垃圾填埋气排放的努力已经导致在加拿大的许多城市生活垃圾填埋场安装了气体收集系统。事实证明，这种系统在捕获和收集垃圾填埋气方面是有效的。然而，在气体收集系统未运行的情况下，以及系统未捕获的逃逸排放，仍然存在气体排放的可能性。许多垃圾填埋场，特别是在寒冷地区，产生的气体不足以支持传统的气体收集和处理系统。例如，渥太华市有80多个关闭的垃圾填埋场，没有任何垃圾焚烧收集系统，从小型拆迁场到城市固体废物填埋场。这些垃圾填埋场仍然会产生甲烷和其他温室气体，这些气体会导致气候变化，也会带来潜在的健康和安全问题。 垃圾填埋场的甲烷排放可以通过堆肥的垃圾填埋场生物覆盖物中的甲烷氧化来减少。作为与Sperling Hansen Associates的首次互动，这项合作研究的目的是调查生物覆盖相对于加拿大传统土壤覆盖在减少甲烷排放方面的效率。

Recent changes to the Earth's climate are currently believed to be associated with changes in the composition of the atmosphere. This change is mostly attributed to anthropogenic activities that generate greenhouse gases (GHG). Methane (CH4) is one of the largest greenhouse gas contributors to the climate change. Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are considered as one of the major sources of anthropogenic methane emission, accounting for up to approximately 35% of the man-made methane emission in North America. Reducing methane emission from MSW landfills can be an efficient way to control the greenhouse gas and global warming. Efforts to reduce landfill gas emissions have led to the installation of gas collection systems at many MSW landfills in Canada. Such systems have proven effective in the capture and collecting of LFG. However, potential for gaseous emissions still exists where a gas collection system is not operational, and from fugitive emissions not captured by the system. Many landfills, especially in cold regions, do not produce enough gas to support conventional gas collection and treatment system. For example, the City of Ottawa has over 80 closed landfills, without any LFG collection system, ranging from small demolition sites to municipal solid waste landfills. These landfills still generate methane and other greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change and also pose potential health and safety concerns. Methane emissions from MSW landfills can be reduced by means of methane oxidation enhanced in composted-based landfill biocovers. The purpose of this collaborative research, as first interaction with Sperling Hansen Associates, is to investigate the efficiency of biocovers in mitigating emissions of methane relative to conventional soil covers in Canada.