Methane oxidation in a landfill biowindow under wide seasonally fluctuating climatic conditions

Berenjkar, Parvin; Sparling, Richard; Lozecznik, Stan; Yuan, Qiuyan

Methane oxidation in a landfill biowindow under wide seasonally fluctuating climatic conditions

2022

Berenjkar, Parvin | Sparling, Richard | Lozecznik, Stan | Yuan, Qiuyan

In the current study, a pilot biowindow was constructed in a closed cell of a Canadian Landfill, undergoing high seasonal fluctuations in the temperature from −30 in winter to 35 in summer. The biowindow was filled with biosolids compost amended with yard waste and leaf compost with the ratio of 4:1 as the substrate layer. Two years of monitoring of methane (CH₄) oxidation in the biowindow led to remarkable expected observations including a thick, solid winter frost cover affecting gas exchange in winter and temperatures above 45 ℃ in the biowindow in late summer. A high influx compared to the reported values was observed into the biowindow with an average value of 1137 g.m⁻².d⁻¹, consisting of 64% of CH₄ and 36% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the landfill gas. The variations in the temperature and moisture content (MC) of the compost layer in addition to the influx fluctuations affected CH₄ oxidation efficiency; however, a high average CH₄ oxidation rate of 237 g.m⁻².d⁻¹ was obtained, with CH₄ being mostly oxidized at top layers. The laboratory batch experiments verified that thermophilic methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) were active throughout the study period and oxidized CH₄ with a higher rate than mesophilic MOB. The methanotrophic potential of the compost mixture showed an average value of 282 µmol.g⁻¹.d⁻¹ in the entire period of the study which is in the range of the highest reported maximum CH₄ oxidation rates. The adopted compost mixture was suitable for CH₄ oxidation if the MC was above 30%. The significance of MC variations on CH₄ oxidation rate depended on the temperature range within the biowindow. At temperatures below 2 ℃, between 29 and 31℃, and above 45 ℃, MC was not a controlling factor for mesophilic CH₄ oxidation.

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