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- Title
Evaluating the estimated methane emission into the atmosphere by landfills in Spain.
- Authors
Calvo, David; Asensio-Ramos, María; Acosta, Laura; Alonso, Mar; Morales, Cecilia; Albertos-Blanchard, Violeta T.; Amonte, Cecilia; Rodríguez, Fátima; Barrancos, José; Melián, Gladys V.; Padrón, Eleazar; Pérez, Erica; Tassi, Franco; Raco, Brunella; López, Dina; Hernández, Pedro A.; Pérez, Nemesio M.
- Abstract
During the active life of a landfill and even decades after being closed, different damaging gases related with the decomposition of the wastes can be released into the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, volatile organic compounds, etc. Biogas extraction systems are installed in order to control these emissions, but a percentage of it escapes into the atmosphere through the surface of the landfill as the so-called fugitive emission.Methane, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases, is increasing in the atmosphere by 0.6% each year and more than 10% of the total anthropogenic emissions of this gas is originated in landfills. Normally, landfills report their methane emissions to the atmosphere using model-based methods on the rate of production and oxidation rate, and on the amount of methane recovered. This approach can involve large uncertainties due to inaccuracies of input data and assumptions in the estimation. Previous studies carried out in Canary Islands has shown that the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions that have been published in the Statal Register of Emissions and Pollutant Sources (PRTR-Spain), Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the Government of Spain, particularly methane, are overestimated. This also means that, if estimates of non-controlled diffuse emission are actually much lower than those estimated by mathematical models, the efficiency of the extraction system is much better than that appreciated.In the period 2017-2019, we are carrying out a study to estimate the diffuse fugitive emission of methane into the atmosphere from landfills in Spain, financed by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. To do so, diffuse CH4 emission measurements are performed in-situat 16 Spanish landfills with portable methane and carbon dioxide sensors, following the accumulation chamber method. To date, the following landfills have been studied: Arico's municipal landfill (0.7 km2) in Tenerife, Canary Islands; the whole Controlled Deposit of Pinto (1.1 km2), in Madrid, which is one of the biggest landfills in the country; the Complejo Medioambiental de la Costa del Sol (0.3 km2) in Malaga, Andalucía; the closed Miranda del Ebro landfill (0.05 km2) in Burgos, Castilla y León; the closed San Markos landfill (0.2 km2) in San Sebastian, País Vasco; and the waste treatment center of Gomencello (0.09 km2) in Salamanca, Castilla y León. A correct estimation of diffuse emission of CH4 from Spanish landfills will help to better manage the wastes, to implement measures to prevent the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere, to manage this powerful energy resource, and to create a mass of new expert researchers in this field.
- Subjects
SPAIN; LANDFILL gases; CARBON dioxide detectors; LANDFILLS; WASTE treatment; REFUSE containers; FUGITIVE emissions
- Publication
Geophysical Research Abstracts, 2019, Vol 21, p1
- ISSN
1029-7006
- Publication type
Article