Abstract
Landfill gas generated can flow into the surrounding atmosphere thereby contributing to the increase in air pollutants in our surroundings. As a result, in South Africa, monitoring the flow of gases is a mandatory requirement for landfills operators. However, most landfills in South Africa especially in the rural areas have failed to monitor the flow and position of these gases. The objective of this research is to monitor the subsurface flow of gases from a landfill. Eighteen gas sample probes were constructed and placed approximately 100 meters apart on the boundaries of the landfill. A government approved handheld GA 2000 landfill gas analyser was used to monitor the gases. The monitoring of the gases was conducted over a period of two year, taking into consideration the different seasons of the year. In 2019, it was observed that the methane concentration emissions ranged from 0.54 % to 2.215 % vol/vol. Also, the months of September and October 2019 recorded the lowest emissions of methane concentration of 0.54 % and 0.655 % vol/vol, respectively. For the year 2020, the months of March, April and May showed the lowest amount of methane emission with values of 0.26, 0.305 and 0.235 vol/vol, respectively. Months of August and November recorded the highest methane concentration emissions with values of 2.26 and 2.33 vol/vol, respectively. The gases were found to be dominant in of the active cells where MSW was currently deposited, this shows that there are more degradation activities present in that part of the landfill.
Presenters
Prince Obinna NjokuStudent, PhD of Environment Sciences, University of Venda, Limpopo, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Assessing Impacts in Diverse Ecosystems
KEYWORDS
GA 2000 gas analyser, Landfill, South Africa, Subsurface migration
