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Elimination of methane generated from landfills by biofiltration: a review

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Abstract

The production of biogas in landfills, its composition and the problems resulting from its generation are all reviewed. Biofiltration is a promising option for the control of emissions to atmosphere of the methane contained in biogas issued from the smaller and/or older landfills. A detailed review of the methane biofiltration literature is presented. The microorganisms, mainly the methanotrophs, involved in the methane biodegradation process, and their needs in terms of oxygen and carbon dioxide utilization, are described. Moreover, the influence of nutrients such as copper, nitrogen and phosphorus, and the process operating conditions such as temperature, pH and moisture content of the biofilter bed, are also presented. Finally, the performance of various filter beds, in terms of their elimination capacities, is presented for laboratory scale biofilters and landfill covers.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for their financial contribution to the project and express their gratitude to Dr. P. Lanigan for text review. One of the authors (J. Nikiema) would like to thank the NSERC for providing a scholarship for her doctoral studies (Canada Graduate Scholarships Program).

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  1. Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500, Boulevard Université, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada, J1K 2R1

    J. Nikiema & M. Heitz

  2. Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500, Boulevard Université, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada, J1K 2R1

    R. Brzezinski

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  1. J. Nikiema
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Correspondence to M. Heitz.

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Nikiema, J., Brzezinski, R. & Heitz, M. Elimination of methane generated from landfills by biofiltration: a review. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 6, 261–284 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-006-9114-z

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