title: Landfill aeration for emission control before and during landfill mining.
abstract: The landfill of Modena, in northern Italy, is now crossed by the new high velocity railway line connecting Milan and Bologna. Waste was completely removed from a part of the landfill and a trench for the train line was built. With the aim of facilitating excavation and further disposal of the material extracted, suitable measures were defined. In order to prevent undesired emissions into the excavation area, the aerobic in situ stabilisation by means of the Airflow technology took place before and during the Landfill Mining. Specific project features involved the pneumatic leachate extraction from the aeration wells (to keep the leachate table low inside the landfill and increase the volume of waste available for air migration) and the controlled moisture addition into a limited zone, for a preliminary evaluation of the effects on process enhancement. Waste and leachate were periodically sampled in the landfill during the aeration before the excavation, for quality assessment over time; the evolution of biogas composition in the landfill body and in the extraction system for different plant set-ups during the project was monitored, with specific focus on uncontrolled migration into the excavation area. Waste biological stability significantly increased during the aeration (waste respiration index dropped to 33% of the initial value after six months). Leachate head decreased from 4 to 1.5m; leachate recirculation tests proved the beneficial effects of moisture addition on temperature control, without hampering waste aerobization. Proper management of the aeration plant enabled the minimization of uncontrolled biogas emissions into the excavation area.
authors.affiliation: DII, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padua, via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy. Electronic address: roberto.raga@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raga
authors.affiliation: DII, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padua, via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaello
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cossu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, Hamburg University of Technology, Harburger Schlossstr. 36, 21079 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Joern
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heerenklage
authors.affiliation: DII, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padua, via Marzolo, 9, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pivato
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics, Hamburg University of Technology, Harburger Schlossstr. 36, 21079 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ritzkowski
mesh_terms: D000392:Air Movements; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D056804:Biofuels / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007558:Italy; D008906:Mining; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels
keywords: Landfill aeration; Landfill emissions; Landfill mining; Leachate extraction from gas wells; Moisture addition; Waste biological stability