Effect of Biocover Thickness on Methane Oxidation Rate of Landfill Gas Emission from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill in Tropical Climate Region

Abstract

Abstract The landfilling of municipal solid waste (MSW) in developing countries mostly is carried out by means of open dumping or control landfills. The degradation of organic compounds of MSW inside the landfill will produce the landfill gas, where the main component is methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are categorized as the greenhouse gas (GHG). These gases if not managed properly will escape and increase the GHG accumulation in the atmosphere. There is many methods has been established and apply to reduce landfill gas emission, but mostly required high investment so not affordable for developing countries. Method that might be applied to reduce GHG emissions from landfill in developing countries is utilization the microorganism to oxidizing CH4 commonly called biocover. The purpose of the study was to analyze the effect of biocover thickness on the oxidation efficiency of CH4 from landfill gas in tropical countries. The concentration CH4 in landfill gas throughout landfill simulator reactor (LSR) covered by 20-60 cm of thick the biocover was measured daily by using the gas analyzer (Sewerin, Multitec 540). The LSR was made of acrylic pipe with a diameter of 25 cm and height of 100 cm. The landfill gas was used has an initial concentration of CH4 approximately 30% and the moisture content of biocover used was maintained at 40%. The experimental results obtained shows the CH4 oxidation efficiency of biocover for 20 cm, 40 cm and 60 cm thick were 8.12%, 9.72% and 4.56%, respectively.