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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Systems Engineering
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1397134

Validation of a Methane Oxidation Biosystem Design Methodology Using Numerical Modeling

Provisionally accepted
Yohan Dulac Yohan Dulac 1Brienne R. Nelson Brienne R. Nelson 2,3Richard G. Zytner Richard G. Zytner 3Alexandre R. Cabral Alexandre R. Cabral 1*
  • 1 Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
  • 2 Dillon Consulting, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 3 University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Methane oxidation biosystems (MOBs) are cost effective engineered systems capable of catalyzing the transformation of CH4 into CO2 biotically, thereby mitigating emissions from landfills. In this study we validate how accurately one can predict the hydraulic behaviour of a MOB using numerical modeling. More precisely how one can identify the length of unrestricted gas migration (LUGM), a critical design criterion for effective methane abatement biosystems. Laboratory experiments were conducted to obtain the material properties for a compost mixed with plastic pellets, and sand. With the water retention curve and air permeability function, we predicted the hydraulic performance of a MOB using Hydrus-2D. We then designed and constructed a MOB and monitored several key parameters for 12 months. The validation of the design methodology was conducted using field measurements, while actual climatic data was used as input in numerical modeling. The air permeability function was an appropriate activation function for determining LUGM. Accordingly, the predicted hydraulic behaviour matched the measured hydraulic behaviour reasonably well, validating the proposed procedure.well. This is quite encouraging in terms of the practical value of the procedure proposed herein.

    Keywords: Design of methane oxidation biosystems, Biofilter, Unsaturated flow of water, water retention curve, Length of unrestricted gas migration, capillary barrier, Landfill cover

    Received: 06 Mar 2024; Accepted: 09 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dulac, Nelson, Zytner and Cabral. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Alexandre R. Cabral, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, J1K 2R1, Quebec, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.