Modelling the methane generation potential and decay constant for a tropical landfill

• Published in: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Waste and resource management 2022-12, Vol.177 (2), p.48-57
• Main Authors: Santos, Renan Rodrigues Alves, São Mateus, Maria do Socorro Costa, Gadéa, Anderson de Souza Matos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1747-6526; 1747-6534
• DOI: 10.1680/jwarm.21.00037

This study modelled the methane (CH 4 ) generation for a landfill in a tropical climate in Brazil, adjusting the values of the parameters of methane generation potential (L o ) and decay constant (k), using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change numerical model and LandGEM and Biogas (CETESB) software. Adopting published data from cell 6 (C6) of the Metropolitan Center Sanitary Landfill, 15 combinations of k and L o were carried out to determine the range of values that best represented the generation of methane. The results of the study allowed to conclude that values of k between 0.1 and 0.15 year, and L o between 60 and 70 m 3 /t, resulted in simulations with good capacity to predict methane for the chosen landfill, obtaining errors lower than 30%. Furthermore, these intervals identified a better representation of methane generation for values of k equal to 0.15/year and L o equal to 60 m 3 /t. This combination showed estimation errors smaller than 6% when compared to methane measured at C6 between 2004 and 2009, showing the importance of having experimental values of k and L o to adjust the simulations and calibrate the used tools.