Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from landfills: application to the Akrotiri landfill site (Chania, Greece)

Landfilling is one of the most common ways of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal in
developing countries. Air pollutants emitted from landfills contributes to the emission in the
atmosphere of greenhouse gases and cause serious problems to the human health. Methane
emission from landfill is serious environmental global concern as it accounts for approximately
15 percentages of current greenhouse gas emissions. The current study was focused on the
determination of air emissions from the Akrotiri landfill site which is located at the Akrotiri area
(Chania, Greece). The models used are the triangular model, the stoichiometric model and
LandGEM model. These models are used to estimate the total landfill gas production from a
given amount of waste. The models differ on their scientific approach for the quantification on
emissions, their complexity and input data requirements. The LandGEM model was selected
for the determination of more representative assessed landfill gas emission rates. The
maximum biogas production rate by the LandGEM model was calculated to be 1.64× 103 Mg
yr-1 and was observed during the year 2008 for the A phase of the landfill, while for the B
phase the maximum biogas production rate was 2.70 × 103 Mg yr-1 and was observed during
2014.