Investigation of methane formation processes during waste disposal in the northern territories

Methane is one of the most significant greenhouse gases. Unlike carbon dioxide, methane is a short – lived greenhouse gas with a lifetime of about 10 years, however, due to significantly higher greenhouse activity (according to scientists, it is at least 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide), its effect on total global warming is very significant. Global warming processes have the greatest impact on the biosphere and ecosystem of the Arctic territories. The melting of permafrost can lead to changes in soil composition and geological processes. Therefore, the formation of methane in the Arctic and subarctic territories is quite an urgent issue. The purpose of this work is to study the amount of methane released in landfills of municipal solid waste. The article discusses the results of a study of methane formation processes at landfills close to the post-operational period. The data in the work were obtained by applying the technology of drilling an array of municipal waste. The article considered the polygons of the Subarctic and Arctic zones. The paper presents averaged data on the results of methane extraction at various landfills. It was found that the volume fraction of methane in the composition of landfill gas from the waste array disposed of over the past two years can reach 61%. However, in the approved methodology for calculating emissions from landfills of municipal solid waste (MSW), accounting for emissions over the past two years is advisory in nature, which creates prerequisites for adjusting the methodology based on the results of instrumental measurements. The results obtained make it possible to more accurately assess the carbon units obtained by introducing the best available technologies at MSW landfills, which is especially important in the framework of the implementation of the state policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic for the period up to 2035.

MSW landfill, emissions, municipal solid waste, methane, mining, climate change, subarctic zone, landfill gases, measurement techniques, Arctic