BASIS TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW METHODOLOGY TO DETERMINE AVOIDED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM IN SITU AEROBIC STABILIZATION OF LANDFILLS

SUMMARY: The aerobic treatment of solid waste has been shown to be a viable means of rapidly stabilizing landfills through aerobically-enhanced waste degradation. Aerobic stabilization has an additional benefit of reducing landfill emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which normally occur during anaerobic decomposition of landfilled waste. However the value of reduced methane emissions from aerobic stabilization of landfills has not been realized due to the difficulty of verifying methane destruction during aerobic treatment. The authors propose a framework for monitoring methane destruction in an aerobic stabilization system for use in verifying greenhouse gas emission reductions based on comparing the initial composition of the landfill gas with the composition of the exhaust gas from an aerobic stabilization system. 1