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Mass Balance Computational Procedure

The document describes procedures for estimating mass balance and gas production in landfills. It discusses estimating remaining site life by calculating refuse mass and cover volume over time. It provides equations for quantifying gas production from refuse decomposition and factors like composition, moisture content, and temperature that affect the rate. The document also discusses leachate production rates and quality as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in waste degrade.

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Mahmoud I. Mahmoud
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151 views

Mass Balance Computational Procedure

The document describes procedures for estimating mass balance and gas production in landfills. It discusses estimating remaining site life by calculating refuse mass and cover volume over time. It provides equations for quantifying gas production from refuse decomposition and factors like composition, moisture content, and temperature that affect the rate. The document also discusses leachate production rates and quality as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in waste degrade.

Uploaded by

Mahmoud I. Mahmoud
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Mass Balance Computational

Procedure in Landfill Assessment

Jae K. (Jim) Park, Professor


Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison

1
Mass Balance in Landfills
Mass
Refuse Mass leaving Mass leaving Waste transformed to
placed = in leachate + in gas + +
remaining other products

Estimate the remaining site life for disposal of refuse


Step 1. Develop a general indication of the solid waste
specific weight
Step 2. Estimate the volume of soil required to cover
each day’s waste from the appropriate solid waste-to-
cover ratio (e.g., 4 to 1)
Step 3. Estimate the tonnage of refuse that may still be
landfilled, given site volume remaining.
2
Quantities of Gas Produced
 Methanogenic decomposition
CaHbOcNd + 1/4(4a-b-2c+3d) H2O  1/8(4a+b-2c-3d)CH4
+1/8(4a-b+2c+3d)CO2 + dNH3
Estimate an upper bound on the gas production relative to the
quantity of substrate utilized.
Because acid-phase anaerobic and aerobic decomposition
gives rise to CO2 and not to CH4, there is a higher CO2
content in the gas generated than predicted from eq. above.
a = 60, b = 94.3, c = 32.8, d = 1, noncombustibles = 53.4, and
H2O = 44.4  53% CH4  520 L/kg
 Theoretical: 300 to 500 L of landfill gas produced from 1 kg
of municipal refuse (5 to 8 ft3/lb)
 Full-size landfill projected: 50 ~ 400 L/kg (0.8 ~ 6.4 ft3/lb)
 Optimum moisture content: 75 ~ 100% of the refuse dry wt.
3
Theoretical CH4 & CO2 Production (1)
 In 100 lb of solid waste, 56 lb decomposable
C60H94.3O37.8N+18.28H2O → 31.96CH4+28.04CO2+NH3
1433.1 g 329.0 g 511.4 g 1233.5 g 17 g
Specific wt: CH4 – 0.0448 lb/ft3; CO2 – 0.1235 lb/ft3
Solution
CH4 = 511.4/1433.1ⅹ56 lb = 20 lb
CO2 = 1233.5/1443.1ⅹ56 lb = 48.2 lb
Volume
CH4 = 20 lb0.0448 lb/ft3 = 446.4 ft3
CO2 = 48.2 lb0.1235 lb/ft3 = 390.3 ft3
4
Theoretical CH4 & CO2 Production (2)

Fraction of CH4 and CO2


CH4(%) = 446.4(446.4+390.3)ⅹ100=53.3%
CO2(%) = 390.3(446.4+390.3)ⅹ100=46.5%
Gas production based on dry wt. of org. material
(446.4+390.3) ft356 lb=14.9 ft3/lb=0.93 m3/kg
Gas production based on total wt. of org. material
(446.4+390.3) ft3100 lb=8.4 ft3/lb=0.52 m3/kg

5
Empirical Formula of Solid Waste
Atomic wt., Mole ratio
Element Wt, g Mole
g/mol (N=1)
C 27.39 12.01 2.28 60
H 3.62 1.01 3.584 94.3
O 22.97 16.00 1.436 37.8
N 0.54 14.01 0.038 1.0
S 0.10 32.07 0.003 0.1
Ash 3.48 - - -

C60H94.3O37.8N → C60H94O38N
6
Factors Affecting Gas Production
 Refuse composition, age of refuse, moisture content,
pH, microbial population present, temperature, and
quantity and quality of nutrients
 Rate of methane generation
dC 0.69
  kC  C  Co  e  t1/ 2 
 kt
dt k
 Cumulative gas produced
C = Co (1 - e-kt)
Assume that the factor limiting the rate of methane
generation at a landfill is the quantity of material
remaining in the landfill.

7
Estimation of CH4 Production
The Scholl Canyon model may be used to estimate
emissions using the following first-order decay equation
(IPCC, 1997):
Gi = Mi× k × L0× exp-(k × ti)
where:
Gi = emission rate from the ith section (kg CH4/year);
Mi = mass of refuse in the ith section (ton);
k = CH4 generation rate (1/year);
L0 = CH4 generation potential (kg CH4/ton of refuse);
ti = age of the ith section (years).

IPCC (1997), Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories,
Vols. 1 and 3, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Bracknell, U.K. 8
CH4 Generation Potential

L0 = (Mc× Fb× S)/2


where:
Mc = kg of carbon per kg of waste landfilled;
Fb = biodegradable fraction; and
S = stoichiometric factor = 16/12.

L0: 4.4 to 194 kg CH4/ton of waste (Pelt et al., 1998)


EPA: L0 = 165 kg CH4/ton of waste

9
Gas Production Rate
 Organic portion of municipal wastes
 Readily decomposable: food wastes (t1/2 = 0.5~1.5 yrs)
 Moderately decomposable: paper (t1/2 = 5 ~ 25 yrs),
wood grass, brush, greens, leaves, oils, and paint
 Non-decomposable: plastics, leather, rubber, and rags
 Landfill methane generation
 Lag phase
 Active methane generation phase
 Life of methane gas generation for economic recovery: 5
to 20 years

10
Decomposition Time in Landfill
Waste product Decomposition time
Banana skin 3~4 wks
Paper bag 1 month
Cardboard 2 months
Wool sock 1 yr
Orange peel Up to 2 yrs
Cigarette butts Up to 12 yrs
Plastic bags* Up to 20 yrs
Polyfilm wrapping (clingwrap)* 25 yrs
Leather shoe Up to 45 yrs
Tin cans 50 yrs
Plastic bottle* 450 yrs
Plastic 6-pack holder* 500 yrs
Disposable nappies 550 yrs
Polystyrene cups > 500 yrs
Aluminum cans > 1 million yrs or forever?
Glass 1~2 million yrs
* Even though these products break down in the times indicated they are still
petrochemical products and will always remain in the environment. 11
Example - Solution
 Example: Calculate CO2, CH4, and water consumed in
the formation of landfill gas per kg of MSW. MSW
empirical formula: C68H111O50N

C68H111O50N + 16H2O  33CO2 + 35CH4 + NH3


(1741) (288) (1452) (560) (17)

Water consumed = 288/1741 = 0.165 kg H2O/kg MSW


= 0.165 kg H2O/0.435 m3 gas/kg MSW
= 0.38 kg H2O/m3 gas
CO2 and CH4: 95 to 99% of landfill gas
12
Typical Landfill Gas Composition
Typical conc.
Component Source (% by vol.) Concern
Methane Biodegradation 50~70 Explosive
Carbon dioxide Biodegradation 30~50 Acidic in GW
Hydrogen Biodegradation <5 Explosive
Mercaptans (CHS) Biodegradation 0.1~1 Odor
Hydrogen sulfide Biodegradation <2 Odor
Toluene Contaminant 0.1~1 Hazardous
Benzene Contaminant 0.1~1 Hazardous
Disulfates Contaminant 0.1~2 Hazardous
Others Biodegradation Traces Hazardous
or contamination

13
Leachate Production Rates
 Water quantity
 Water present in the waste (small)
 Water produced during decomposition (negligible)
 Water added to the landfill - percolation through the
landfill surface, horizontal flow through the sides, and
upward flow through the bottom (major)
 Hydrologic water balance
 Formation of surface water runoff, evaporation directly
to the atmosphere, transpiration to the atmosphere
through vegetation surfaces, or infiltration into the
cover soils and refuse at the surface of the landfill 
Infiltrates may be held in surficial soil and percolate
through the refuse (leachate).
14
Leachate Quality
 Cellulose is a major carbohydrate in domestic refuse.
 Cellulose:hemicellulose:lignin = 70:15:15

CO2, H2, ethanol, &


Glucose & acetic, propionic,
Cellulose
cellobiose butyric, valeric and
caproic acids
pH increase
CH4 & CO2
to 7~8
15
Major Compositions of Papers Landfilled
 Cellulose: A long chain of glucose molecules, linked to one
another primarily with glycosidic bonds. Only a small
number of enzymes are required to degrade this material.
 Hemicelluloses: Branched polymers of xylose, arabinose,
galactose, mannose, and glucose. Hemicelluloses enhance
the stability of the cell wall. They also cross-link with
lignin, creating a complex web of bonds which provide
structural strength, but also challenge microbial degradation.
 Lignin: A complex polymer of phenylpropane units, which
are cross-linked to each other with a variety of different
chemical bonds. This complexity has thus far proven as
resistant to detailed biochemical characterization as it is to
microbial degradation. Lignin degradation is primarily an
aerobic process, and in an anaerobic environment lignin can
persist for very long periods.
16
Biological Decomposition in Landfill

Aerobic decomposition
High CO2, temp. , pH , high COD, BOD, and
specific conductance, high concentrations of most
inorganic constituents

Anaerobic acid phase


Highest COD, BOD, and specific conductance

Methanogenic phase
pH ~7, COD, BOD, and specific conductance 
17
LandGEM
 EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program, Program
Development Handbook:
http://www.epa.gov/lmop/publications-
tools/handbook.html
 LandGEM program:
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/catc/dir1/landgem-v302.xls
 Useful reference:
http://www.stormh2o.com/MSW/Editorial/LandGE
M_the_EPAs_Landfill_Gas_Emissions_Model_1595
7.aspx

18

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