Reem MuslehPh.D. 2002-2006 |
Start up and operation of bioreactor landfills in cold climatesMy research objectives are to quantify the relationship between amount of heat consumed and amount of heat production (known as heat generation factor), to determine Point oxygen consumption rates (i.e., that is oxygen consumption rate at particular location in the landfill not normalized to the waste mass), and to evaluate the impact of air injection on methanogenesis process. Figure 1 below demonstrates the effect of air injection on landfill temperature due to aerobic utiilization of the organic matter.
Figure 1. Effect of air injection on biorecator landfill temperature (Location: Harrison, MI) The average heat generation factor under field conditions was 341±84 kJ/mole, using dynamic calorimetric method. First order POCR averaged 0.0867±0.0422 h-1 after 15 days of air injection and increased to 0.2450±0.0843 h-1 after 21 days of air injection. This study demonstrated that air injection is key to a successful startup of anaerobic digestion of bioreactor landfills in colder climates. The average rate of increase in percent methane at all locations exposed to air in the landfill increased significantly from 0.15±0.042 °C day-1 to 0.68±0.15°C day-1. This was accompanied by a decrease in the median of hydrogen concentration from 4,085 ppm to 953 ppm. The lag time also decreased from 137 days to 15 days, in response to air injection. |
