With the number of LFG monitoring technologies out there, it can be difficult for operators to distinguish which is the best fit. The authors, Pat Sullivan and John Henkelman of Understanding Landfill Gas Monitoring Techniques, do just that, help readers find the approach that works best for their landfill monitoring needs.
Methane can be monitored above the surface of the landfill as a gauge of potential emissions or can be directly measured using techniques that test for the rate or flux of emissions. The above-surface monitoring techniques for gauging potential emissions include surface emission monitoring, ground-based or low-altitude imaging and satellite and aerial imaging.
Landfill methane measurement is the direct measurement of methane emissions from landfills. Direct measurement of methane is more expensive than surface emission monitoring. Four ways to measure landfill methane directly are flux chamber testing, plume measurement, micrometeorological methods, and dispersion modeling.
Over years of working on operations and maintenance of landfill gas collection and control systems and leachate management systems, SCS found that too many times data is collected and no one has the time to review and analyze it for improved decision-making.
As an industry-wide issue, SCS developed systems to streamline the process using technology and our field expertise to help perform routine and sometimes complex data analysis and to automatically push reports and alerts to operators, engineers, and project managers.
The improvements are dramatic; by removing human error from reviewing pages of data we now focus our time and energy on what really matters, using what the data tells us to make informed decisions. Let’s put the technology into the context of everyday operations – identify, troubleshoot, and solve landfill gas and leachate challenges.
This SCS paper illustrates several sites using integrated systems for data collection and analysis and how they are used to identify, troubleshoot, and solve real problems in an effective and efficient manner.
Privately share this article using the email icon on the left navigation bar. Print the article using the Download icon just under the article, or your browser commands.
About the Authors:
David P. Hostetter, PE, Denver, Pennsylvania
Phil Carrillo, Huntington Beach, California
Darrin D. Dillah, Ph.D., PE, BCEE, Reston, Virginia
