Comparison between lab- and full-scale applications of in situ aeration of an old landfill and assessment of long-term emission development after completion.

Sustainable landfilling has become a fundamental objective in many modern waste management concepts. In this context, the in situ aeration of landfills has been recognised for its potential to convert conventional anaerobic landfills into biological stabilised state, whereby both current and potential (long-term) emissions of the landfilled waste are mitigated. In recent years, different in situ aeration concepts have been successfully applied in Europe, North America and Asia, all pursuing different objectives and strategies. In Austria, the first full-scale application of in situ landfill aeration by means of low pressure air injection and simultaneous off-gas collection and treatment was implemented on an old, small municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill (2.6ha) in autumn 2007. Complementary laboratory investigations were conducted with waste samples taken from the landfill site in order to provide more information on the transferability of the results from lab- to full-scale aeration measures. In addition, long-term emission development of the stabilised waste after aeration completion was assessed in an ongoing laboratory experiment. Although the initial waste material was described as mostly stable in terms of the biological parameters gas generation potential over 21days (GP21) and respiration activity over 4days (RA4), the lab-scale experiments indicated that aeration, which led to a significant improvement of leachate quality, was accompanied by further measurable changes in the solid waste material under optimised conditions. Even 75weeks after aeration completion the leachate, as well as gaseous emissions from the stabilised waste material, remained low and stayed below the authorised Austrian discharge limits. However, the application of in situ aeration at the investigated landfill is a factor 10 behind the lab-based predictions after 3years of operation, mainly due to technical limitations in the full-scale operation (e.g. high air flow resistivity due to high water content of waste and temporarily high water levels within the landfill; limited efficiency of the aeration wells). In addition, material preparation (e.g. sieving, sorting and homogenisation) prior to the emplacement in Landfill Simulation Reactors (LSRs) must be considered when transferring results from lab- to full-scale application.

Characterisation of microbial communities in relation to physical-chemical parameters during in situ aeration of waste material.

This study investigates changes in waste microbial community composition and biomass during in situ aeration in laboratory-scale columns over 32 weeks. Microbial profiles were assessed in solid and leachate samples in relation to physical-chemical parameters using phospholipid ester linked fatty acid (PLFA) and phospholipid ether lipid (PLEL) analysis and parameters such as pH, EC, TC, TOC, TN, NO(3)(-), NH(4)(+), COD and the biochemical parameter BOD(5). Principal component analysis (PCA) of the individual PLFAs and PLELs indicated a change in community composition and biomass over the operation period, which could be differentiated in the three phases (i) anaerobic, (ii) aeration start and (iii) extended aeration. PCA revealed that aeration and pH values were the most influential parameters on microbial dynamics. There was a marked decrease of ubiquitous microorganisms, some Gram negative bacterial groups and methanogenic archaea, but a consecutive increase of Gram positive microbial groups along with a rapid reduction of organics after aeration start. Those in situ aeration effects on microbial community composition and C conversion were stable throughout the laboratory set-up of 32 weeks.