Priya Heerwani

Research Interest

Dynamics of methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen in a feshly constructed bioreactor landfill

The research involves the statistical analysis of gases and VFA’s from a bioreactor landfill. The research is based on the following hypotheses :

  • Spatial variation in methane, carbon dioxide, and oxygen concentrations inside a bioreactor landfill are statistically significant.
  • The concentration of Volatile Fatty Acids produced from a landfill will increase with the moisture content, assuming that the composition of solid waste remains almost same throughout the landfill.
To test the hypotheses, gas and leachate samples are collected from sampling ports spatially distributed inside a bioreactor landfill from the bioreactor cell at the Northern Oaks Recycling and Disposal Facility, Harrison, Michigan. Using a gas chromatograph, methane, CO2, and oxygen concentrations in the gas samples and the VFA’s in the leachate are measured. The data is then analyzed for statistical differences.