Use of Alternative Cover Materials to Control Surface Emissions (H2S and VOCs) at an Engineered Landfill

Between 2010 and 2015, the Bellechasse Regional County Municipality (Bellechasse RCM) was affected by particularly noxious odors issuing from its Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (Bellechasse RCM MSWL) in Armagh, Canada. A study carried out in 2015-2016 by Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ) confirmed that it was still possible for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emissions to cause odor issues in and around the site. The experimental project carried out by CRIQ in cooperation with Bellechasse RCM, Englobe, Quebec City and the Regroupement des récupérateurs et des recycleurs de matériaux de construction et de démolition du Québec (represented by AIM Éco-centre) made it possible to test three (3) different industrial residue as an alternative cover materials on site and study how they controlled H2S emissions, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors at the Bellechasse RCM’s landfill. The site was monitored from November 2016 to September 2017 to confirm the effectiveness of alternative biofiltration cover materials (soil + compost), domestic waste incineration bottom ash and 0 to 2.5-inch concrete residues and to compare the results with the sand cover currently used as the cover material. Effectiveness was determined by measuring the Area Source Emission Rate (ASER) with a 3 m x 3 m static flux chamber developed for the project. Methane measurements were concomitantly taken to confirm that the biogas could escape through the cover materials. The monitoring results made it possible to demonstrate that domestic waste incineration bottom ash as well as 0-2.5 in. concrete received the highest load of H2S and showed an H2S capture performance of greater than 83ϿFor volatile organic compounds, materials such as 0-2.5 in. concrete and the alternative biofiltration cover materials were most effective for capture (greater than 73Ͽfor the highest loads. The lowest content of CH4 after covering was measured for the alternative cover materials. The site where the incineration bottom ash was used managed to decrease odors by ±200 odor units. Overall, we have demonstrated in this project, the capacity of different alternative cover materials under real condition for the control of gas emissions from landfill.