Presented on November 7, 2011, by Jean Bogner, Research Professor, Dept. of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois - Chicago; and President, Landfill +, Inc.

Abstract: Landfill methane is the third largest source of anthropogenic methane in the U.S., also accounting for approximately 1-2% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Site-specific rates are dependent on the efficiency of engineered landfill gas extraction systems, the thickness and physical properties of cover materials, and seasonal methane oxidation rates in cover soils. Small-scale (m2) emission rates (as g CH4 per meters squared per day) can vary by 6-7 orders of magnitude, and in some cases, landfills can be potent local sources of methane. Oxidation rates in covers oils can also vary over several orders of magnitude, with the highest rates in the literature documented from landfill cover soils. Thus, landfills provide a fascinating setting in which to measure and model the competing dynamics of transport and oxidation in an engineered soil system.

Download slides: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/106734