Carbon isotopic characterisation and oxidation of UK landfill methane emissions by atmospheric measurements
File(s)bakkaloglu et al 2021b .pdf (21.64 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Bakkaloglu, Semra
Lowry, Dave
Fisher, Rebecca E
France, James L
Nisbet, Euan G
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Biological oxidation of methane in landfill cover material can be calculated from the carbon isotopic signature (δ13CCH4) of emitted CH4. Enhanced microbial consumption of methane in the aerobic portion of the landfill cover is indicated by a shift to heavier (less depleted) isotopic values in the residual methane emitted to air. This study was conducted at four landfill sites in southwest England. Measurement of CH4 using a mobile vehicle mounted instrument at the four sites was coupled with Flexfoil bag sampling of ambient air for high-precision isotope analysis. Gas well collection systems were sampled to estimate landfill oxidised proportion. Closed or active status, seasonal variation, cap stripping and site closure impact on landfill isotopic signature were also assessed. The δ13CCH4 values ranged from −60 to −54‰, with an average value of −57 ± 2‰. Methane emissions from active cells are more depleted in 13C than closed sites. Methane oxidation, estimated from the isotope fractionation, ranged from 2.6 to 38.2%, with mean values of 9.5% for active and 16.2% for closed landfills, indicating that oxidised proportion is highly site specific.
Date Issued
2021-08
Date Acceptance
2021-07-11
Citation
Waste Management, 2021, 132, pp.162-175
ISSN
0956-053X
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Start Page
162
End Page
175
Journal / Book Title
Waste Management
Volume
132
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X21003809?via%3Dihub
Subjects
0907 Environmental Engineering
Environmental Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-08-02