ARS | Publication request: Landfill Gas Measurement Methods

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: June 14, 2006
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Methane from landfills contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The development of cost-effective methods for measuring diffuse emissions from landfills remains a difficult issue for regulators and landfill operators. Currently, two major options are available: (1) above-ground methods which quantify fluxes over hectare scales, such as tracer, laser diode and micro-meteorological methods, and (2) ground-surface methods which measure localized fluxes at scales of 1 m2 or less, including static and dynamic chamber methods. The use of static accumulation chambers has several advantages: quantification of low and negative fluxes, useful for quantifying spatial variability of emissions across a landfill site, simple equipment needs, and useful for process level studies correlating methane emissions to temperature, moisture, methane oxidation rate, and other variables. Static chambers have been widely used all over the world for emissions from landfill and non-landfill environments. However, this method is time- and labor-intensive, requiring many chamber measurements to quantify fluxes at hectare scales as well as accompanying laboratory GC (gas chromatography) analyses. This poster summarizes the results of past field measurements using a developed field portable dynamic flux system. The system consists of a field FID (flame ionization detector) analyzer connected to a static chamber for rapid placement on the landfill surface, with quantification of the methane flux in less than five minutes. This system was not able to detect low level fluxes with the limit of detection approximately +0.1 g m-2 day-1 and it was not possible to measure atmospheric uptake of methane. Despite these shortcomings, the field FID flux measurement would be useful in determining areas of high emissions where landfill cover repair activities could be conducted to reduce surface emissions.