Superficial Methane Emissions from a Landfill in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

On worldwide scale, one of the most important anthropogenic methane sources is landfill disposal for solid wastes. The main goal of this work was to quantify methane emissions at one landfill built in Merida, Mexico. This sit had venting wells by which a passive control for biogas movement was exerted. At the venting wells, methane concentrations were measured monthly during a 6 months period, Methane surface emission rate was estimated with the close chamber technique. Obtained results indicated that there are both spatial and seasonal variations in biogas composition. The average methane value during the monitoring period was 21.9% (12.7 to 32.5 V/V) and the surface flow rate was in the range of 0 to 6,004 g CH4 m–2 d–1, with an average value of 1,480 g CH4 m–2 d–1, which is a high value in respect to these reported in publications.