Methane oxidation efficiency and NMVOCs reduction in a full-scale passive bioifltration system for the treatment of residual landfill gas

The aim of this study is to assess the abatement of Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOCs) in a full-scale prototype (biowindow) constructed for the passive biofiltration of low levels of Landfill Gas (LFG). The prototype was built on an emissive hot spot of the capping layer at Le Fornaci di Monticiano Landfill (SI), an aftercare landfill site. NMVOCs emissions from landfills can cause unpleasant odors, can be toxic for human health and cause an important impact on the environment. As such, is important to characterize the LFG and evaluate the abatement efficiency of the technique adopted for the treatment of LFG. In this study, the composition of the LFG inlet the prototype was characterized in terms of NMVOCs and the dynamic chamber method was used to assess the concentration of NMVOCs emitted at the surface of the biowindow. Three monitoring campaigns were performed, and the methodology applied have permitted to evaluate the NMVOCs abatement and methane (CH4) oxidation efficiency. Regarding CH4oxidation efficiency the results show an average maximum value greater than 95%, while NMVOCs efficiency abatement depends on the functional group of each compound, but the average efficiency is more than 90%.