Task Group Leaders:
Julia Gebert, Austria
j.gebert@tudelft.nl
Marion Huber-Humer, Austria
marion.huber-humer@boku.ac.at
Contacts:
Julia Gebert
TU Delft, Faculty of CITG Stevinweg 1
2628 CN Delft, Netherlands
email: j.gebert@tudelft.nl
Phone: +31 152 782 798
Background & Scope
The CLEAR Task Group aims to coordinate interdisciplinary research on the quantification and mitigation of landfill gas emissions to the atmosphere. The Task Group emerged from a recognized need among participants at an IWWG-Workshop held in the context of the Second Intercontinental Landfill Research Symposium (ICLRS), in Asheville, North Carolina in October 2002, for a mechanism with which to coordinate international research on landfill gas emissions and oxidation.
The CLEAR Task Group now includes approx. 40 academic and industrial researchers and scientists from Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, Malyasia and is led by Marion Huber-Humer from the Institute of Waste Management of BOKU University in Vienna, Austria (e-mail: marion.huber-humer@boku.ac.at) and Julia Gebert from the Hamburg Port Authority, Germany.
Aims & Objectives
The main focus of CLEAR is on the utilization of natural biological processes to reduce emissions of methane and non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs). A second focus is on improved methodologies to measure and model landfill gas emissions and oxidation Moreover, CLEAR manages a large database, currently being updated, of information and scientific results on methane emissions and oxidation.
The Task Group provides a forum for members to discuss and exchange ideas, generate hypotheses, and jointly consider and relate results and findings from diverse projects. By fostering international and interdisciplinary communication and pooling data, research advances can be accelerated, and future research requirements identified and synthesized more effectively. From the synergy fostered by CLEAR, more innovative and comprehensive approaches and strategies to measure, characterize, and mitigate landfill gas emissions will emerge.
Topics
- landfill gas generation and emissions
- control and mitigation strategies for LFG-emissions
- prediction and modeling on a regional, national and global basis
- contribution of landfill methane to the greenhouse effect and climate change
- microbial methane oxidation
- biodegradation of NMOCs in landfill cover soils
Members and Membership
Member expertise encompasses a broad range of disciplines, including microbiology, soil science, chemistry, geochemistry, civil and environmental engineering, and waste management. Collectively, CLEAR members have many years of experience in the measurement and modelling of landfill gases at local, regional, and global scales.
Structure and operation mode
CLEAR encourages and implements frequent scientific exchange through an email discussion platform (CH4ox@yahoogroups.com). To date, more than 75 persons have subscribed to this list. Group activities are coordinated by the task group leader and communication between members is conducted mainly via email and through Internet web page.
Annual workshops/meetings are convened to maintain personal contact among members, introduce new members to the Task Group, and to provide a forum for presentations and interactive group discussions. Since 2003 there have been more than ten meetings and workshops, generally during the Sardinia or Intercontinental Landfill Research Symposium (ICLRS) events.
The task-group operates in close contact with other IWWG task groups.
Future activities
To be announced.
