Biochar-Amended Soil Cover for Microbial Methane Oxidation: Effect of Biochar Amendment Ratio and Cover Profile
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 3
Abstract
A long-term soil column study was carried out to investigate the methane () removal capacity of landfill cover soil and biochar-amended cover soil under simulated landfill cover conditions. Terminal batch assays were conducted following the long-term column tests to quantify potential oxidation rates in cover materials at three depths targeting the middepths of distinct soil layers in each column. Potential methane oxidation rates among the materials varied in response to moisture content and were also affected by the methane exposure history. During long-term incubation testing, 10%–biochar-amended soil columns had higher average methane removal efficiencies than an unamended soil control at inlet methane loads ranging from to . Methane oxidation rates in cover materials following exhumation varied widely following an initial lag phase, ranging from very low rates () to relatively rapid rates similar to those observed in landfill cover soils (up to ). Highest overall methane oxidation rates were observed in 10%–biochar-amended soils in both column and batch assays, and this is attributed to the favorable soil moisture regime promoted by the high water-holding capacity of biochar, as well as to its high internal porosity and surface area. In addition, the improved water retention of biochar-amended soil also enhanced the performance by reducing the formation of desiccation fissures and the emissions of landfill gas through these fissures via advective flow.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research project was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant CMMI #1200799), which is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are thankful to J. Bogner, K. Spokas, B.Y. Sadasivam, E. Schmidt, D. Mecha, D. Perzan, K. Saad, and several graduate and undergraduate research assistants for their advice and assistance during this project. The authors are thankful to the reviewers for providing constructive comments.
References
Albanna, M., and Fernandes, L. (2009). “Effects of temperature, moisture content, and fertilizer addition on biological methane oxidation in landfill cover soils.” Pract. Period. Hazard. Toxic Radioact. Waste Manage., 187–195.
Bender, M., and Conrad, R. (1992). “Kinetics of oxidation in oxic soils exposed to ambient air or high mixing ratios.” FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 101(4), 261–269.
Bender, M., and Conrad, R. (1995). “Effect of concentrations and soil conditions on the induction of oxidation activity.” Soil Biol. Biochem., 27(12), 1517–1527.
Börjesson, G., Sundh, I., and Svensson, B. (2004). “Microbial oxidation of at different temperatures in landfill cover soils.” FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 48(3), 305–312.
Bowman, J. (2006). “The methanotrophs—The families Methylococcaceae and Methylocystaceae.” The prokaryotes, M. Dworkin, S. Falkow, E. Rosenberg, K. H. Schleifer, and E. Stackebrandt, eds., Springer, New York.
Capaccioni, B., Caramiello, C., Tatàno, F., and Viscione, A. (2011). “Effects of a temporary HDPE cover on landfill gas emissions: Multiyear evaluation with the static chamber approach at an Italian landfill.” Waste Manage., 31(5), 956–965.
Czepiel, P. M., Mosher, B., Crill, P. M., and Harriss, R. C. (1996). “Quantifying the effect of oxidation on landfill methane emissions.” J. Geophys. Res. D, 101(D11), 16721–16729.
Einola, J. K. M., Sormunen, K. M., and Rintala, J. A. (2008). “Methane oxidation in a boreal climate in an experimental landfill cover composed from mechanically–biologically treated waste.” Sci. Total Environ., 407(1), 67–83.
Franzidis, J.-P., Héroux, M., Nastev, M., and Guy, C. (2008). “Lateral migration and offsite surface emission of landfill gas at City of Montreal landfill site.” Waste Manage. Res., 26(2), 121–131.
Gebert, J., Groengroeft, A., and Miehlich, G. (2003). “Kinetics of microbial landfill methane oxidation in biofilters.” Waste Manage., 23(7), 609–619.
Gebert, J., and Perner, M. (2015). “Impact of preferential methane flow through soil on microbial community composition.” Eur. J. Soil Biol., 69, 8–16.
Gilbert, B., and Frenzel, P. (1998). “Rice roots and oxidation: The activity of bacteria, their distribution and the microenvironment.” Soil Biol. Biochem., 30(14), 1903–1916.
Hilger, H. A., Cranford, D. F., and Barlaz, M. A. (2000a). “Methane oxidation and microbial exopolymer production in landfill cover soil.” Soil Biol. Biochem., 32(4), 457–467.
Hilger, H. A., Wollum, A. G., and Barlaz, M. A. (2000b). “Landfill methane oxidation response to vegetation, fertilization, and liming.” J. Environ. Qual., 29(1), 324–334.
Huber-Humer, M., Roder, S., and Lechner, P. (2009). “Approaches to assess biocover performance on landfills.” Waste Manage., 29(7), 2092–2104.
Jindo, K., et al. (2012). “Biochar influences the microbial community structure during manure composting with agricultural wastes.” Sci. Total Environ., 416(Feb), 476–481.
Kightley, D., Nedwell, D. B., and Cooper, M. (1995). “Capacity for methane oxidation in landfill cover soils measured in laboratory-scale soil microcosms.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 61(2), 592–601.
Luo, Y., Durenkamp, M., De Nobili, M., Lin, Q., Devonshire, B. J., and Brookes, P. C. (2013). “Microbial biomass growth, following incorporation of biochars produced at 350°C or 700°C, in a silty-clay loam soil of high and low pH.” Soil Biol. Biochem., 57(Feb), 513–523.
Maxfield, P. J., Brennand, E. L., Powlson, D. S., and Evershed, R. P. (2011). “Impact of land management practices on high-affinity methanotrophic bacterial populations: Evidence from long-term sites at Rothamsted.” Eur. J. Soil. Sci., 62(1), 56–68.
Mor, S., De Visscher, A., Ravindra, K., Dahiya, R. P., Chandra, A., and Van Cleemput, O. (2006). “Induction of enhanced methane oxidation in compost: Temperature and moisture response.” Waste Manage., 26(4), 381–388.
OriginPro version 9 [Computer software]. OriginLab Corporation, Northampton, MA.
Pan, Y., Abell, G. J., Bodelier, P. E., Meima-Franke, M., Sessitsch, A., and Bodrossy, L. (2014). “Remarkable recovery and colonization behaviour of methane oxidizing bacteria in soil after disturbance is controlled by methane source only.” Microb. Ecol., 68(2), 259–270.
Pietikäinen, J., Kiikkilä, O., and Fritze, H. (2000). “Charcoal as a habitat for microbes and its effect on the microbial community of the underlying humus.” Oikos, 89(2), 231–242.
Priemé, A., Christensen, S., Dobbie, K. E., and Smith, K. A. (1997). “Slow increase in rate of methane oxidation in soils with time following land use change from arable agriculture to woodland.” Soil Biol. Biochem., 29(8), 1269–1273.
Rachor, I., Gebert, J., Gröngröft, A., and Pfeiffer, E.-M. (2011). “Assessment of the methane oxidation capacity of compacted soils intended for use as landfill cover materials.” Waste Manage., 31(5), 833–842.
Rachor, I. M., Gebert, J., Gröngröft, A., and Pfeiffer, E. M. (2013). “Variability of methane emissions from an old landfill over different time-scales.” Eur. J. Soil Sci., 64(1), 16–26.
Reay, D. S., Radajewski, S., Murrell, J. C., McNamara, N., and Nedwell, D. B. (2001). “Effects of land-use on the activity and diversity of methane oxidizing bacteria in forest soils.” Soil Biol. Biochem., 33(12–13), 1613–1623.
Reddy, K. R., Yaghoubi, P., and Yukselen-Aksoy, Y. (2015). “Effects of biochar amendment on geotechnical properties of landfill cover soil.” Waste Manage. Res., 33(6), 524–532.
Reddy, K. R., Yargicoglu, E., Yue, D., and Yaghoubi, P. (2014). “Enhanced microbial methane oxidation in landfill cover soil amended with biochar.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 04014047.
Röwer, I. U., Geck, C., Gebert, J., and Pfeiffer, E.-M. (2011). “Spatial variability of soil gas concentration and methane oxidation capacity in landfill covers.” Waste Manage., 31(5), 926–934.
Sadasivam, B. Y., and Reddy, K. R. (2015a). “Adsorption and transport of methane in biochars derived from waste wood.” Waste Manage., 43(Sep), 218–229.
Sadasivam, B. Y., and Reddy, K. R. (2015b). “Adsorption and transport of methane in landfill cover soil amended with waste-wood biochars.” J. Environ. Manage., 158(Aug), 11–23.
Sadasivam, B. Y., and Reddy, K. R. (2015c). “Engineering properties of waste wood-derived biochars and biochar-amended soils.” Int. J. Geotech. Eng., 9(5), 521–535.
Scheutz, C., et al. (2009). “Microbial methane oxidation processes and technologies for mitigation of landfill gas emissions.” Waste Manage. Res., 27(5), 409–455.
Scheutz, C., and Kjeldsen, P. (2004). “Environmental factors influencing attenuation of methane and hydrochlorofluorocarbons in landfill cover soils.” J. Environ. Qual., 33(1), 72–79.
Scheutz, C., Pedicone, A., Pedersen, G. B., and Kjeldsen, P. (2011). “Evaluation of respiration in compost landfill biocovers intended for methane oxidation.” Waste Manage., 31(5), 895–902.
Schroth, M. H., Eugster, W., Gómez, K. E., Gonzalez-Gil, G., Niklaus, P. A., and Oester, P. (2012). “Above- and below-ground methane fluxes and methanotrophic activity in a landfill-cover soil.” Waste Manage., 32(5), 879–889.
Spokas, K., King, J., Wang, D., and Papiernik, S. (2007). “Effects of soil fumigants on methanotrophic activity.” Atmos. Environ., 41(37), 8150–8162.
Spokas, K. A., and Bogner, J. E. (2011). “Limits and dynamics of methane oxidation in landfill cover soils.” Waste Manage., 31(5), 823–832.
Steenbergh, A. K., Meima, M. M., Kamst, M., and Bodelier, P. L. E. (2010). “Biphasic kinetics of a methanotrophic community is a combination of growth and increased activity per cell.” FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 71(1), 12–22.
Stein, V., and Hettiaratchi, J. (2001). “Methane oxidation in three Alberta soils: Influence of soil parameters and methane flux rates.” Environ. Technol., 22(1), 101–111.
Streese, J., and Stegmann, R. (2003). “Microbial oxidation of methane from old landfills in biofilters.” Waste Manage., 23(7), 573–580.
Sun, F., and Lu, S. (2014). “Biochars improve aggregate stability, water retention, and pore-space properties of clayey soil.” J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci., 177(1), 26–33.
Whalen, S. C., Reeburgh, W. S., and Sandbeck, K. A. (1990). “Rapid methane oxidation in a landfill cover soil.” Appl. Environ. Microb., 56(11), 3405–3411.
Wilshusen, J. H., Hettiaratchi, J. P. A., De Visscher, A., and Saint-Fort, R. (2004a). “Methane oxidation and formation of EPS in compost: Effect of oxygen concentration.” Environ. Pollut., 129(2), 305–314.
Wilshusen, J. H., Hettiaratchi, J. P. A., and Stein, V. B. (2004b). “Long-term behavior of passively aerated compost methanotrophic biofilter columns.” Waste Manage., 24(7), 643–653.
Yargicoglu, E. N. (2016). “Biotic and abiotic characterization of biochar-amended landfill covers based on column and field studies.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Illinois, Chicago.
Yargicoglu, E. N., Sadasivam, B. Y., Reddy, K. R., and Spokas, K. (2015). “Physical and chemical characterization of waste wood derived biochars.” Waste Manage., 36(Feb), 256–268.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 3 • March 2018
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 28, 2016
Accepted: Sep 6, 2017
Published online: Dec 28, 2017
Published in print: Mar 1, 2018
Discussion open until: May 28, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.