ABSTRACT
An increase in the anaerobic decomposition rate of waste leads to a rise in landfill gas production and faster stabilization of waste. This goal can be achieved by converting a conventional landfill into an anaerobic bioreactor landfill. Landfill Gas (LFG), withdrawn in a controlled manner, is used as an energy source. Consequently, carbon dioxide having a significantly lower global warming potential than methane (ca. 21 times) is released into the atmosphere. An anaerobic bioreactor landfill (ABL) is a variant of the bioreactor landfill concept, which assumes optimization of the operational parameters and environmental conditions within the waste mass in order to obtain a “stable waste” within a reasonable time scale, thus ensuring limited risk to the environment, even when liner failure occurs (Westakle, 1997).
