Environmental studies of landfills are often complicated, not least because the release of landfill gases varies greatly in both location and time. These variations result in relatively high investigation costs, as it has traditionally been examined manually. Therefore, we are continuously working on developing new innovative methods and equipment that contribute to faster and more efficient investigations of gases at landfills. Good examples of this are our new screening equipment for mapping point sources of methane release into the atmosphere and the landfill logger. Furthermore, monitoring landfill gases (e.g., CO2 and CH4) in, on, and around landfills is often relatively expensive due to the need to monitor multiple locations, which are often remote and lack direct access to electricity.
The screening equipment is designed to cover relatively large areas in a field day and continuously see where point sources occur, thereby continuously adapting where measurements are taken based on the results obtained. The screening equipment is, for example, relevant prior to emission studies to subsequently design an investigation strategy that takes into account the heterogeneous distribution of point sources. From the literature, there are examples that point sources of landfill gas emissions can account for more than 60% of the total release from the landfill.
The screening tool can be found here.
The timely variation of landfill gases in the soil and under buildings (or in point sources) can be investigated with the LandfillLogger.
Several parameters, such as precipitation, temperature, and atmospheric pressure, can influence gas transport from landfills in the unsaturated zone. As these parameters change over time, it is crucial for the robustness of the risk assessment to document that gas concentrations at selected points have been continuously monitored over an extended period, ideally during extreme events that affect gas transport.
The landfill logger is designed to monitor the concentrations of CH4 and CO2 under buildings or in the soil gas phase (in the unsaturated zone) to assess the risk of explosion and suffocation. Additionally, the loggers measure soil gas temperature, atmospheric pressure, and the vacuum necessary to extract soil gas. This vacuum is proportional to the soil permeability. By logging these parameters along with the landfill gases at the same location, it is possible to document that the gases were measured under various conditions important for gas transport.
The loggers can be rented via our webshop here. Here you can also find more detailed specifications on the sensors we apply.
For more information or quotes on rental, please contact our expert listed below.
