Site-specific Determination of Methane Generation Potential and Estimation of Landfill Gas Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill: A Case Study in Nam-Binh-Duong, Vietnam

Abstract

Landfills are substantial anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). This study reports a simple and efficient method for determining the environmental loads of landfill gases (LFG) emitted from the Nam Binh Duong landfill, Vietnam, by applying the LandGEM and the IPCC first-order decay models (FOD model). The environmental LFGs loads were quantified based on both the relevant parameters of the generation potential (L0) of 81 m3/Mg and the generation rate (k) of 0.355 year−1 of methane (CH4) as well as the average measurement value of CH4 (57% by volume of the LFGs) obtained throughout the on-site measurements of the investigated landfill (Scenario 1). Then, the quantified emission results of the LFGs were compared to those of the Clean Air Act (CAA) default mode of the model (Scenario 2). During the period from 2004 to 2144, the projected landfill methane emissions add up to 116,377 t of CH4 with an average of 825 t of CH4/year. The paired t test conducted to compare the gas emissions obtained from both scenarios demonstrated that the on-site parameters significantly affect the yield of the LFGs. The estimated total LFG, methane, CO2, and NMVOCs recovery potential can serve as supporting data for policy making on obtaining renewable energy from landfills and minimizing the environmental issues caused by LFGs emissions.