Landfill gas monitoring

Landfill gas monitoring is the process by which gases that are collected or released from landfills are electronically monitored. Landfill gas may be measured as it escapes the landfill ("Surface Monitoring") or may be measured as it is collected and redirected to a power plant or flare ("Collection System Monitoring")

Surface monitoring is used to check the integrity of caps on waste and check on borehole monitoring. It may give preliminary indications of the migration of gas off-site. The typical regulatory limit of methane is 500 parts per million (ppm) by volume (in California, AB 32 may push this limit down to 200 ppm). In the UK the limit for a final landfill cap is 1*10-3 milligrams per square metre per second, and for a temporary cap it is 1*10–1 mg/m2/s ( as measured using the Environment Agency's " Guidance on Monitoring landfill gas surface emissions " LFTGN 07, EA 2004 ). Surface monitoring can be broken down into Instantaneous and Integrated. Instantaneous monitoring consists of walking over the surface of the landfill, while carrying a flame ionization detector (FID). Integrated consists of walking over the surface of the landfill, while pumping a sample into a bag. The sample is then read with a FID or sent to a lab for full analysis. Integrated regulatory limits tend to be 50 ppm or less.

Gas probes, also known as perimeter or migration probes, are used for subsurface monitoring and detect gas concentrations in the local environment around the probe. Sometimes multiple probes are used at different depths at a single point. Probes typically form a ring around a landfill. The distance between probes varies but rarely exceedes 300 metres. The typical regulatory limit of methane here is 50,000 parts per million (ppm) by volume, or 1% methane and 1.5% carbon dioxide above geological background levels in the UK ( see " Guidance on the monitoring of Landfill Gas " LFTGN03, EA 2004).

Ambient air samplers are used to monitor the air around a landfill for excessive amounts of methane and other gases. The principal odoriferous compounds are hydrogen sulfide ( which is also toxic ) and the majority of a population exposed to more than 5 parts per billion will complain ( World Health Organisation : WHO (2000) as well as volatile organic acids. Air quality guidelines for Europe, 2nd ed. Copenhagen, World Health Organization Regional Publications, European Series).

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