IWWG Working Group on
LANDFILL AERATION

Chair: Dr. Marco Ritzkowski/Prof. Rainer Stegmann

Scope

The creation of a sustainable landfill is a fundamental objective in waste management worldwide. The main objectives of modern landfill operation are to control and utilize the energy provided by landfill gas (LFG) and to prevent environmental pollution caused by polluted leachate and migrating LFG. Landfills should be constructed and operated in line with state-of-the-art technologies focusing on waste pre-treatment, lining systems, and landfill gas and leachate collection. However, over time many modern landfills continue to exhibit a significant emission potential for both leachate and LFG. This is particularly true for older landfills constructed years ago, the design of which is not as effective as modern landfills.
Aerating landfills are a tool applied to control and reduce landfill emissions. By converting conventional anaerobic landfills into an aerated treatment unit, a biologically stabilized waste with minimal emission potential can be produced. The objectives of landfill aeration vary depending on the geographical region, specific legislation, and available financial resources.
In Japan, the semi-aerobic landfill is operated with the specific intent of achieving enhanced biological degradation. The objective of landfill aeration in the US is to increase biodegradation rates and settlement leading to earlier recovery of air-space in which to place additional waste and to reduce post-closure care periods.  In Europe, however, the objective of aerobic in situ stabilization is to achieve and maintain a controlled reduction of emissions and in emission potential from old landfills in order to significantly reduce the period of landfill aftercare. Landfill aeration can be beneficially combined with controlled water (leachate) infiltration.
The IWWG set up a working group on the topic of landfill aeration to bring together international perspectives and expertise in the area in order to better define the technology and to disseminate experiences to the public. The IWWG Task Group “Landfill Aeration” was established in 2004 during the 3rd Intercontinental Landfill Research Symposium (ICLRS) held in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

Objectives

Specific objectives of the group include:

Topics

Topics dealt with by the Task Group include:

Members and Membership

The Task Group, chaired by Dr. Marco Ritzkowski of the Hamburg University of Technology (e-mail: m.ritzkowski@tuhh.de), includes members from the US, Australia, Asia and Europe, creating an international forum of researchers.
Here is a complete list of members and their corresponding institutions:

NAME
 INSTITUTION
 COUNTRY
R. Beaven University of Southampton UK
H. Bentley
 Hydro Geo Chem, Tucson, Arizona USA 
S. Bilgili Technical University Turkey
R. Cossu
 IMAGE Department, University of Padova
 Italy
M. Ettala Kuopio University
 Finland
O. Gamperling
 BOKU Unniversity, Vienna
 Austria
D. Gardner
 NSW Dept. of Primary Industry
 Australia
T. Gisbert Arcadis France
D. Hansen
 Landfill Service Corporation
 USA
H. Hilger University of North Carolina – Charlotte USA
O. Hirata Fukuoka University Japan
M. Huber-Humer
 BOKU University, Vienna
 Austria
P. P. Huber BOKU University, Vienna Austria
A. Hudson University of Southampton UK
P. Imhoff
 University of Delaware USA
M. Jadeja Seneca College Canada
K. Knox University of Southampton/Knox Associates (UK) Ltd UK
T. Laurila Finnish Meteorological Institute Finland
Y. Matsufuji Fukuoka University Japan
K. Miyawaki Kyushu University Japan
D. Nayagum Unversity of Southampton UK
H. Nakayama Kyushu University Japan
J. Powell University of Florida USA
W. Powrie University of Southampton UK
R. Prantl Geo Services Australia
R. Raga
 University of Padova Italy
T. Rees-White University of Southampton UK
D. Reinhart
 University of Central Florida USA
M. Ritzkowski
 Hamburg University of Technology Germany
K. Sormunen University of Jyvaskylā Finland
R. Stegmann Hamburg University of Technology Germany
A. Tachfuji Fukuoka University Japan
T. Townsend University of Florida, Gainesville USA
J. White University of Southampton/WJ Groundwater Limited UK
T. Wohlhuter Arcadis France
H. Yoshida Muroran Institute of Technology Japan

Structure and operation mode

The task-group operates in close contact with other IWWG task groups, particularly the “Sustainable Landfilling” and “CLEAR” groups. Meetings are held at least once a year either during the Sardinia Landfill Symposium, the Intercontinental Landfill Research Symposium (ICLRS) or the BOKU Waste Conference in Vienna. These three events serve as the main meeting platforms. Additional meetings are conducted in the short term if required, at times involving only several of the TG members.
The next meeting will be held in June, during the Sixth Intercontinental Landfill Research Symposium (ICLRS 2010) in Kiroro Resort, Hokkaido, Japan.

Group activities are coordinated by the task group chairman and communication between members is conducted mainly via email and through Internet web page (http://abf.boku.ac.at/IWWG_LATG/). The group welcomes new members provided that candidates have proven expertise in one or more of the above-mentioned fields.

More information can be found on the task group website.

 

Contact person:

Dr. Marco Ritzkowski
Hamburg University of Technology
Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics
Harburger Schlossstrasse 36
21079 Hamburg - Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 40 42878-2053 
Fax: +49 40 42878-2375
E-Mail: m.ritzkowski@tuhh.de

 

IWWG Task Group "Landfill Aeration" - 2nd Meeting during the SARDINIA 2005 Symposium

 

NEWS

The next regular LATG meeting is scheduled for June 2010 in the framework of the 6th ICLRS in Hokkaido, Japan. The meeting will focus on the exchange of experiences with different aeration strategies, in particular a comparison between the semi aerobic (or passive aeration) and the aerobic (or active forced aeration) approach. The former is frequently applied in Japan whereas the latter has been introduced in Europe and the US.
In addition to the meeting a conference session dealing with the current status and new developments in landfill aeration will be organised on Wednesday, June 9th. The session will comprise presentations focusing on practical examples of landfill aeration projects, processes occurring during aeration, semi aerobic landfill studies and landfill aeration in the framework of Greenhouse Gas reduction. The presentations will be supplemented by intensive group discussions among the participants. One of the expected outcomes of the session is the identification of research needs that might be implemented into the future work of the LATG.
Work during the meeting and the session during ICLRS will continue discussion on the topics addressed during the regular meeting of the Task Group, held during the Sardinia 2009 Symposium. On this occasion the Task Group identified the following issues as the main topics of interest in the near future:

•    Definition of different aeration approaches worldwide
•    Further development of a database “Landfill Aeration” (including results from laboratory und full-scale aeration projects)
•    Operational aspects of full-scale applications
•    Nitrogen Dynamics in the course of landfill aeration
•    Behaviour of Heavy Metals
•    Instrumentation and monitoring of aerobic treatment of fresh wastes and modelling (LDAT) of this process
•    Semi aerobic landfills and passive aeration measures


A total of 25 professionals from 9 countries have currently expressed their interest in participating in the Landfill Aeration TG. For practical reasons and to comply with IWWG requirements, Task Group members will be differentiated into an active and passive status in connection with a differentiated presentation on the TG web page. Active members will have the opportunity of being present on the web page with a personal CV including a photo, whereas passive members will only be listed.
The LATG web page has recently been moved to its new host in Austria and is currently under re-construction. The new internet address will be http://abf.boku.ac.at/IWWG_LATG. In the meantime, general information is available from the IWWG webpage which can be accessed from the following link: http://iwwg.eu/task-groups/landfill-aeration.
Scientists and researchers intending to join the Task Group and contribute as active members, as well as those seeking regular information on LATG activities as passive members should contact the Task Group Chairman Marco Ritzkowski (e-mail: m.ritzkowski@tuhh.de).