Assessing the efficiency of landfill aeration with a carbon mass balance approach

This study quantifies the share of aerobically produced carbon (aeration efficiency) during six years of a full scale landfill aeration project using the balance between methane and carbon dioxide in the bulk extracted gas. Aeration was realized by overextraction. Aeration enhanced carbon release in comparison to the anaerobic ‘base case’, as predicted by the Afvalzorg multiphase model, by a factor of 3.7. Aeration efficiency, averaging around 44%, varied seasonally, and was lower in periods of low or no evapotranspiration and hence higher moisture content in the landfill cover soil (winter). Higher aeration efficiencies were observed when evapotranspiration enables increased cover soil permeability (summer). Correspondingly, aeration efficiency was linearly related to the concentration of N2 in the bulk extracted gas. To a lesser extent, condensate and its removal also affected flow and hence the aeration efficiency. Except for the modulation by seasonal effects, the cumulative amount of extracted ‘aerobic carbon’ increased linearly over time, independent of changes in the blower pressure and flow. This suggests that below the cover soil, within the waste body, flow is chanelled in preferential pathways, limiting the intrusion of oxygen into the bulk waste. Aeration can hence only be enhanced by reducing well spacing. The blower efficiency, assessed by the ratio of flow to pressure, decreased markedly over time, likely indicating diminishing waste permeability as a result of waste consolidation.