MODELLING BIOGAS GENERATION AND RELEASE FROM MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS

Abstract

MSW sanitary landfills represent nowadays one of the most important issue related to the waste management cycle. In particular, knowledge about biogas production is a key aspect for a proper exploitation of this energy source, even in the after-care phase. In the present study, a simple mathematical model was proposed for the simulation of biogas production. The model is based on 1st order biodegradation kinetic and takes also into account the temperature variation in time and depth and the landfill settlement. The model was applied to a real landfill located in Sicily (ITALY) and its simulation result was compared with experimental data (volumes of biogas collected by the recovery system and diffuse emissions directly measured by authors). The obtained result showed a good fitting between simulation results and methane production evaluated with experimental data, suggesting that the model can be the proposed model can be applied for reliable estimates of landfill gas production, thus representing a useful tool for landfill operators also for a reliable estimate of the after-care phase duration.