Abstract
In this study, a novel biogeochemical cover system comprising biochar-amended soil and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steel slag was explored as a sustainable alternative cover system to mitigate methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) simultaneously from landfill gas (LFG). Long-term column studies of a simulated biogeochemical cover (BGCC) profile investigated CH4, CO2, and H2S removal potential. The performance of the BGCC system was compared with a conventional soil cover (SC) profile. The CH4 oxidation rates of biochar-amended soil were significantly higher, ranging from 185 to 407 µg CH4/g-day in comparison with the barrier soil in the SC system (6–7.5 µg CH4/g-day), based on the batch incubation of column-exhumed samples. In addition, the biochar-amended soil showed higher relative abundance of methanotrophic bacterial communities (20%–51%) in comparison with soil cover (10%–27%). In both columns, complete attenuation of H2S occurred near the inlet (75 cm bgs) and sulfur oxidizing bacteria (e.g., Thiobacillus) and methanotrophs were both detected. The sulfur content was elevated (0.68%) at the base of both columns and H2S may have imparted an inhibitory effect on CH4 oxidation rate in the SC system. The BOF slag showed a CO2 removal potential of 67 g CO2/kg BOF slag. Overall, the BGCC system outperformed the SC system, effectively mitigating CH4, CO2, and H2S simultaneously.
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Acknowledgments
This research is a part of comprehensive project titled “Innovative Biochar-Slag-Soil Cover System for Zero Emissions at Landfills” funded by the National Science Foundation (CMMI# 1724773), which is gratefully acknowledged. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. The authors would like to thank Phoenix Services LLC for supplying BOF slag for this study. The authors are grateful to Genomic Research Core and Electron Microscopy Core, Research Resources Center, University of Illinois at Chicago for microbial analysis. Pittsburgh Mineral & Environmental Technology, Inc. (PMET Lab Services) conducted the QXRD and carbon/sulfur analysis of the samples.
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Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 26 • Issue 3 • July 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Dec 8, 2021
Accepted: Mar 10, 2022
Published online: May 16, 2022
Published in print: Jul 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Oct 16, 2022
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- Jyoti K. Chetri, Krishna R. Reddy, Landfill Odor (Hydrogen Sulfide) Control Using Novel Biogeochemical Cover System, Geo-Congress 2023, 10.1061/9780784484661.013, (127-133), (2023).