Study on the effect of landfill gas on aerobic municipal solid waste degradation: Lab-scale model and tests

Aeration is of great importance in landfill remediation. However, most existing studies on aerobic waste degradation ignore the presence of landfill gases. In this study, gas characteristics during aerobic waste degradation in the presence of landfill gas in lab-scale lysimeters were investigated. Oxygen (O2) was intermittently injected into municipal solid waste. Changes in the gas concentration and reaction rate of methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and O2 during the reaction process were monitored and calculated. The results showed that all reactions, including aerobic degradation, CH4 oxidation, and anaerobic waste degradation, occurred simultaneously during landfill aeration. The maximum O2 consumption rate was 0.013 mol day-1 kg-1 dry waste. CH4 production was stimulated after the O2 content was in-sufficient to sustain the aerobic environment. Higher CH4 production was likely attributed to the remaining substrate and biomass from dead aerobic microorganisms decomposed by growing anaerobic microorganisms. Based on the biochemical reaction and principle of mass conservation, a gas balance model during waste aeration was established to analyze the proportions of aerobic waste degradation, CH4 oxidation, and anaerobic waste degradation. The CH4 oxidation reaction was more advantageous than the aerobic waste degradation reaction during aeration. With an increase in gas injection times, the anaerobic reaction gradually weakened. The maximum proportion of CH4 oxi-dation reaction could achieve at 21.4 % during aeration, which is of great significance for the waste degradation reac-tion. The maximum proportion of aerobic waste degradation and the minimum proportion of anaerobic waste degradation were approximately 16.0 % and 74.2 %, respectively. The results show that landfill gas should be considered in the progress of landfill aeration. This study provides a novel approach for calculating the proportion of reactions during landfill aeration, which deepens the understanding of the reaction process and contributes to the de-sign of aerobic landfill projects.

Automated summary

Aeration plays a critical role in landfill remediation, but previous studies neglect the impact of landfill gases. This study investigated gas characteristics during aerobic waste degradation in the presence of landfill gas. It was found that all reactions, including aerobic degradation, CH4 oxidation, and anaerobic degradation, occur simultaneously during landfill aeration. A gas balance model was established to analyze the proportions of these reactions, showing that CH4 oxidation reaction is more advantageous than aerobic degradation. The results highlight the importance of considering landfill gas in landfill aeration processes.