Enhanced performance of the aerobic landfill reactor by augmentation of manganese peroxidase.

The aim of the work discussed in this article was to determine the ability of an MnP augmented aerobic waste cell to reach stable conditions rapidly in terms of gas production, nutrient content and cellulose and hemicellulose to lignin ratio (C+H/L). Two types of experiments were conducted; small batch and laboratory scale lysimeter experiments. Results from batch experiments showed that enzyme added treatments have the capability to reach a stable C+H/L and lower gas production rates, faster than the treatments without enzyme addition. Enzyme enhancement of the lysimeter increased the rate of biodegradability of the waste; gas production increased more than two times and there was clear evidence of increase in nutrients (nitrogen, dissolved carbon, biological oxygen demand) in the lysimeter ​leachate.

Reaction mechanisms and rate constants of waste degradation in landfill bioreactor systems with enzymatic-enhancement.

Augmenting leachate before recirculation with peroxidase enzymes is a novel method to increase the available carbon, and therefore the food supply to microorganisms at the declining phase of the anaerobic landfill bioreactor operation. In order to optimize the enzyme-catalyzed leachate recirculation process, it is necessary to identify the reaction mechanisms and determine rate constants. This paper presents a kinetic model developed to ascertain the reaction mechanisms and determine the rate constants for enzyme catalyzed anaerobic waste degradation. The maximum rate of reaction (Vmax) for MnP enzyme-catalyzed reactors was 0.076 g(TOC)/g(DS).day. The catalytic turnover number (k(cat)) of the MnP enzyme-catalyzed was 506.7 per day while the rate constant (k) of the un-catalyzed reaction was 0.012 per day.

Waste degradation and gas production with enzymatic enhancement in anaerobic and aerobic landfill bioreactors.

The presence of lignin is the limiting factor at later stages of biodegradation of municipal solid waste under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Supplying enzymes into the system could facilitate lignin degradation, thereby aiding anaerobic and aerobic waste degradation processes. A comprehensive set of laboratory experiments were conducted under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions to evaluate the feasibility of using enzymes in accelerating lignin-rich waste degradation. After 30 days of anaerobic operation, MnP and LiP enzyme treated reactors produced 36 and 23 times higher cumulative methane (CH4), respectively, compared to that of the control reactor devoid of enzyme treatments. The carbon dioxide (CO2) yield of MnP enhanced aerobic reactor showed more than two-fold increase.

Effect of enzyme additions on methane production and lignin degradation of landfilled sample of municipal solid waste.

Operation of waste cells as landfill bioreactors with leachate recirculation is known to accelerate waste degradation and landfill gas generation. However, waste degradation rates in landfill bioreactors decrease with time, with the accumulation of difficult to degrade materials, such as lignin-rich waste. Although, potential exists to modify the leachate quality to promote further degradation of such waste, very little information is available in literature. The objective of this study was to determine the viability of augmenting leachate with enzymes to increase the rate of degradation of lignin-rich waste materials. Among the enzymes evaluated MnP enzyme showed the best performance in terms of methane yield and substrate (lignin) utilization. Methane production of 200 mL CH(4)/g VS was observed for the MnP amended reactor as compared to 5.7 mL CH(4)/g VS for the control reactor. The lignin reduction in the MnP amended reactor and control reactor was 68.4% and 6.2%, respectively.

Development of a landfill model to prioritize design and operating objectives.

The application of scientifically based decision making tools to help address solid waste management issues dates back to the early 1960s. Researchers continue to use operations research tools to help optimize landfill design and operating parameters. This paper discusses the application of another type of decision making tool, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), to address priority ranking for a number of landfill engineering design and operating objectives in developing and developed countries. In this application, the AHP is used to rank, and prioritize, economic, environmental, health and safety, legislative and public perception objectives for landfill design and operations specific to landfill distance from a community, and precipitation levels. Results from a global survey using the Delphi process are included, with a discussion on the survey's impact on the objective rankings relative to community proximity and precipitation. The Delphi process worked extremely well, and was an excellent tool to use in this application. The initial results from the objective rankings show promise in the development of an integrated model for landfill design and operation.

Solid waste characteristics and their relationship to gas production in tropical landfill.

Solid waste characteristics and landfill gas emission rate in tropical landfill was investigated in this study. The experiment was conducted at a pilot landfill cell in Thailand where fresh and two-year-old wastes in the cell were characterized at various depths of 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 m. Incoming solid wastes to the landfill were mainly composed of plastic and foam (24.05%). Other major components were food wastes (16.8%) and paper (13.3%). The determination of material components in disposed wastes has shown that the major identifiable components in the wastes were plastic and foam which are resistant to biodegradation. The density of solid waste increased along the depth of the landfill from 240 kg m(-3) at the top to 1,260 kg m(-3) at the bottom. Reduction of volatile solids content in waste samples along the depth of landfill suggests that biodegradation of solid waste has taken place to a greater extent at the bottom of the landfill. Gas production rates obtained from anaerobic batch experiment were in agreement with field measurements showing that the rates increased along the depth of the landfill cell. They were found in range between 0.05 and 0.89 l kg(-1) volatile solids day(-1). Average emission rate of methane through the final cover soil layer was estimated as 23.95 g(-2)day(-1) and 1.17 g(-2)day(-1) during the dry and rainy seasons, respectively.

Thermal conductivity of leaf compost used in biofilters: an experimental and theoretical investigation.

Thermal conductivity is an important property that governs the behaviour of leaf compost biofilters used in treating gaseous pollutants. Measurements were carried out for the thermal conductivity (K) of 44 samples of leaf compost, covering wide ranges of the volume fractions of water (xi(w)), solids (xi(s)) and air (xi(a)), at 20 degrees C using an unsteady state thermal probe. The results indicated that the compost thermal conductivity increased with an increase in xi(w), with a decrease in xi(a), and with an increase in the degree of saturation (defined as the volumetric fraction of water in the total void space). The predictions from the Woodside-Messmer quadratic parallel (QP) model for the thermal conductivity of leaf compost were higher than the experimental values. A simple linear relationship was developed between the thermal conductivity and the degree of saturation, which provided a satisfactory correlation for the data measured in this study as well as those reported recently for sandy and clay loams.

Long-term behavior of passively aerated compost methanotrophic biofilter columns.

The methane oxidation potential of several types of compost methanotrophic biofilter columns were compared in the laboratory over a period of 220 days. The results indicate an increase in methanotrophic activity over a period of about 100 days, up to a maximum of 400 g m(-2) day(-1), and a gradual decline to about 100 g m(-2) day(-1) within the next 120 days. High methane oxidation rates appear to be restricted to a small area of the column, 10-15 cm thick. Based on the laboratory investigations carried out to determine the cause for the decline in methane oxidation rate, it was concluded that the formation of exopolymeric substances (EPS), at the zones of maximum methane oxidation, was responsible for this decline. In monitoring methane oxidation in a column for up to 600 days, it was observed that mixing of the medium after formation of EPS enabled the column to temporarily recover high performance. The results suggest that stable, homogenous compost, with a low C/N and low ammonium content, mixed on a regular basis, could achieve and maintain high methane oxidation efficiencies.

Methane oxidation and formation of EPS in compost: effect of oxygen concentration.

Oxygen concentration plays an important role in the regulation of methane oxidation and the microbial ecology of methanotrophs. However, this effect is still poorly quantified in soil and compost ecosystems. The effect of oxygen on the formation of exopolymeric substances (EPS) is as yet unknown. We studied the effect of oxygen on the evolution of methanotrophic activity. At both high and low oxygen concentrations, peak activity was observed twice within a period of 6 months. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis showed that there was a shift from type I to type II methanotrophs during this period. At high oxygen concentration, EPS production was about 250% of the amount at low oxygen concentration. It is hypothesized that EPS serves as a carbon cycling mechanism for type I methanotrophs when inorganic nitrogen is limiting. Simultaneously, EPS stimulates nitrogenase activity in type II methanotrophs by creating oxygen-depleted zones. The kinetic results were incorporated in a simulation model for gas transport and methane oxidation in a passively aerated biofilter. Comparison between the model and experimental data showed that, besides acting as a micro-scale diffusion barrier, EPS can act as a barrier to macro-scale diffusion, reducing the performance of such biofilters.