Intelligent Bioreactor Management Information System (IBM-IS)
For Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Carbon Sequestration
Project # 42432

Primary Performing Organization:
University of Delaware

Although carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the subject of most of the programs designed to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, methane is also a GHG targeted for abatement.  Methane is of concern because it traps heat in the atmosphere at a rate over 20 times greater than that of CO₂.  In turn, since landfills are the largest single source of methane attributable to human activity, they have been the target of mitigation measures.  In this connection, one promising methane mitigation approach is the use of bioreactor landfills — any landfill in which liquid or air is injected in a controlled fashion to accelerate or enhance biostabilization of the waste.

The objective of the project is a refinement of the bioreactor approach through the Intelligent Bioreactor Management Information System (IBM-IS).  The benefit from the IBM-IS project will be the advancement of controlled landfill technology with an accompanying reduction in methane emissions.  Widespread application of this technology may reduce man-made methane emissions by 10–20 percent.  Since methane is such a powerful GHG, emission reductions at such levels could provide significant mitigation to climate change effects.

The IBM-IS system will allow for more rapid and complete decomposition of landfill waste and minimize the release of methane, all through controlled injections of air and liquids.  Bioreactor cells can be either anaerobic or aerobic.  Anaerobic cells involve the addition of liquid to the waste in order to increase methane production.  The methane can be captured for use as an energy resource.  Aerobic cells use liquid and air injection, which directly reduces methane generation.  The rate of decomposition of waste using aerobic cells is faster than that in anaerobic cells.  See photographs.

The detailed objectives of the project are to:

• Combine new measurement techniques with new and existing computer models of landfill processes in the demonstration of the IBM-IS.
• Develop and test an IBM-IS for mitigating fugitive methane emissions from a new aerobic landfill cell with a permeable earthen cover.
• Develop and test an IBM-IS for controlled injection of air and liquids to maintain optimal conditions for suppression of methane generation in an aerobic landfill cell.

Contact:
Project Manager:  Heino Beckert, heino.beckert@netl.doe.gov
 
Related Papers and Publications:

• Intelligent Bioreactor Management System Fact Sheet (pdf)