Mitigation of non-methane organic compounds through landfill soil cover and its environmental implications

Field measurement campaigns were conducted at a Chinese municipal solid waste landfill to investigate variation of non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs) when migrating through an intermediate soil cover. Flux change ratio (FCR) was introduced to indicate quantitative variation of NMOCs between two depths through the soil cover. FCR of NMOCs showed a positive correlation with methane oxidation fraction (99 % confidence level), indicating the synergistic effects of methane oxidation and NMOCs mitigation in soil cover. Emission reduction indicator (ERI), ozone-forming potential reduction indicator (ORI), and toxicity reduction indicator (TRI) of halogenated hydrocarbons were calculated to evaluate the environmental effects of intermediate soil cover for NMOCs control and reached up to 7.85 mg m−2 day−1, 20.8 mg m−2day−1 and 7.27 µg m−2 day−1, respectively. Enhancement of methane oxidation in landfill covers could be an effective way to reduce NMOCs emission and decrease its environmental effects, which would give guidance on landfill management.