Bio-Tarp: Reducing Landfill Methane Emissions with Bioactive Alternative Daily Cover
Project # NT42433

Primary Performing Organization
University of North Carolina - Charlotte

Methane gas has a global warming potential that is more than 20 times greater than carbon dioxide. Controlling methane emissions, or converting methane to carbon dioxide before its emission, can therefore contribute to efforts to control climate change.

Municipal solid waste landfills are the largest sources of anthropogenic methane emissions in the U.S. Installing standard methane gas collection systems at these landfills may provide good gas capture after landfill closure, but a significant portion of the methane forms and escapes soon after waste placement and long before capping. This project will design a tarp impregnated with immobilized methane oxidizing bacteria and then field test it for use as an alternative daily cover that will reduce methane emissions during the active life of a landfill.

The project is being performed in two phases. The first phase involves two distinct activities: identification of good bacterial immobilization techniques, and testing of a variety of immobilization schemes to identify the two or three best methods for a bio-tarp design. The objective of this phase is to achieve sustained, robust methane oxidation activity with bacteria that also lend themselves to satisfactory attachment or embedding in a tarp matrix.

In the second phase, the two or three most promising designs will be incorporated into a reusable tarp material that will be field-tested at a municipal waste landfill site. Ideally, the bio-tarps will permit gas diffusion, conserve moisture, and generally promote good biotic activity, along with functions that are ordinarily expected from landfill daily cover materials (e.g., erosion control).

A final technical report will be submitted with a recommendation for a final bio-tarp design, along with samples of a prototype of the recommended design.

Contact:
Project Manager: William Aljoe, William.aljoe@netl.doe.gov

Related papers and publications:

• Presentation [PDF-2.3MB] in defense of Master’s Thesis (Fabien Besnard), University of North Carolina – Charlotte, November 14, 2008
• Handout [PDF-50KB] and Poster [PDF-208KB] presented at the 5th Intercontinental Landfill Research Symposium, September 10-12, 2008, Copper Mountain, CO
• Poster [PDF-193KB] presented at the 108th American Society of Microbiology Conference, June 1-5, 2008, Boston, MA
• Manuscript [PDF-525KB] and Slides [PDF-1.1MB] presented at the Eleventh International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, October 1-5, 2007, S. Margherita di Pula (Cagliari), Sardinia, Italy.