Abstract
We investigated the characteristics of ordinary domestic wastes, including kitchen waste, that had been disposed of directly in a landfill site about 1.5 years and about 23 years earlier. We selected the most suitable of the materials in the landfill site for biogasification treatment and investigated the characteristics of the biogas that were produced by them were investigated by batch experimental tests.
The proportion (by wet weight) of substances that could not be classified (residuals) was from 37% to 49% and the total proportion of waste that was classified as residuals, paper or plastics was between 80% and 90%. We considered the residuals and the paper to be the most suitable materials for biogasification treatment as they contained between 5% and 14% carbon while the plastics contained little easily degradable organic matter.
We estimated the expected methane generation from the landfilled waste based on the results of the batch tests, assuming that the biogas was generated from only the paper and the residuals. The estimated values were significantly greater than the amount of methane typically generated from livestock excreta in biogasification facilities. This demonstrated that biogasification is a useful reclamation technology for landfill sites where ordinary domestic wastes, including kitchen waste, have been disposed of directly applied to landfill.
