Aerobic landfill treatment: reduction of greenhouse gas emission, leachate treatment and downstream processing

Landfilling of waste is an operation that has huge impact on both water and air quality. Modern landfills can be designed to minimize impact on groundwater resources and reduce Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in old landfills, which typically undergo a slow, anaerobic biodegradation process that

produces methane gas. It is estimated that global methane emissions from landfills are between 30 and 70 million tonnes each year, most of which currently come from developed countries. Methane and carbon dioxide are two major greenhouse gases (GHG). Methane traps 25 times more thermal

energy in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Methane emissions from Canadian landfills account for 20% of national methane emissions. SALT Canada Inc. has been working on a landfill site in Fort McMurray, Alberta, in order to convert an anaerobic site to an aerobic operation and hence achieve carbon neutrality. The company strives to treat the organic matter in the landfill expeditiously and with minimum or no impact on the environment and achieve a stable landfill ready for mining and land reclamation. SALT Canada is partnering with researchers at Western University to address this goal. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Sohrab Rohani

Student:

Arnold Painstil

Partner:

SALT Canada Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - civil

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Western University