Emissions of Potent Greenhouse Gases from Appliance and Building Wastes in Landfills
Project Summary: This investigation is conducted to determine emissions of (hydro)chlorofluorocarbons (F gases including CFC-11, HCFC-141b, HFC-245fa and HFC-134a) from waste insulating foam in landfills in California. Background information is obtained and analyses are conducted to establish characteristics and flow of waste foam materials entering landfill facilities for disposal. Amounts of foam expansion agents contained in appliance and building wastes at the time of entry to landfills is estimated using data available in the literature. An in situ testing program is conducted at an active municipal solid waste landfill with an engineered gas collection system representative of a typical facility where a great majority of waste foam materials is disposed of in California. Experimental analyses are conducted using the static flux chamber method to determine negative and positive flux and concentration of emissions of the target gases from the landfill. A site-specific experimental program is developed that accounts for age of wastes, type of covers, and gas extraction system.
Project Team: Principal Investigators – Nazli Yesiller (GWRI), Jim Hanson (CENVE), and Jean Bogner (University of Illinois-Chicago); Key Scientific Personnel – Yarrow Nelson (CENVE), Tracy Thatcher (CENVE), Don Blake (UC-Irvine); Research Associate – Derek Manheim
Funding Agency: California Air Resources Board
Publications:
(internal)
Project Photos
Diffusion Pathways for Blowing Agents used in Foam Insulation Materials
Static Flux Chamber for Measurement of Trace Gas Components from Landfill Surface