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Detection of hotspots and rapid determination of methane emissions from landfills via a ground-surface method

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Abstract

We present a method for the rapid determination of methane emissions from landfills based on atmospheric dispersion theory, which suggests that the methane concentration, at a small distance from the soil/atmosphere interface, is proportional to its flux. Thus, after suitable calibration, the determination of methane concentrations close to the ground allows for flux determination in a shorter time than with standard enclosure techniques. This concept was tested using a surface probe in direct contact with the ground. The probe extracts a continuous sample of the air at the probe/ground interface and transports it to a portable methane analyzer. It was observed that stable methane concentrations were measured 30 s after the probe was positioned at the measurement point. These concentrations correlated well with the fluxes measured by standard static chambers. The method was used to determine the fluxes at 217 points within a 90,000 m2 landfill. These measurements facilitated mapping of the CH4 emissions and the localization of hotspots. We conclude that the method is simple, effective, and relatively quick, compared to existing standard methods.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the “Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT)” through project grant No. 23661. Rodrigo Gonzalez-Valencia and Felipe Magana-Rodriguez received grant-aided support from CONACYT (scholarship numbers 266244 and 419562). The authors are thankful to Gustavo Varela, Mario Maldonado, German Salinas, and Carlos Quiroga from “Soluciones para el Control de Recursos (SCR),” for the technical assistance during the sampling campaigns. The authors are thankful to Victoria T. Velazquez Martinez, Juan Corona, Joel Alba, and David E. Flores-Rojas for their technical support.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biotecnología y Bioingeniería, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. IPN, 2508, Colonia San Pedro Zacatenco, 07360, Mexico DF, Mexico

    R. Gonzalez-Valencia, F. Magana-Rodriguez & F. Thalasso

  2. Soluciones para el Control de Recursos S.A. de C.V., Monterrey, N.L., Mexico

    E. Maldonado & J. Salinas

Authors
  1. R. Gonzalez-Valencia
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  2. F. Magana-Rodriguez
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  3. E. Maldonado
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  4. J. Salinas
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  5. F. Thalasso
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Correspondence to F. Thalasso.

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Gonzalez-Valencia, R., Magana-Rodriguez, F., Maldonado, E. et al. Detection of hotspots and rapid determination of methane emissions from landfills via a ground-surface method. Environ Monit Assess 187, 4083 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-4083-0

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