Investigation of Potential Application of Modified Pervious Paving Biofilters to Vent Ground Gas and Prevent Groundwater Contamination in Historic Landfills

Much of the solid municipal waste generated by society is sent to landfill, where biodegrading processes result in the release of methane, a major contributor to climate change. This work examined the possibility of installing a type of biofilter within paved areas of the landfill site, making use of modified pervious paving both to allow the escape of ground gas and avoid contamination of groundwater, using specially designed test models with provision for gas
sampling in various chambers. It proposes the incorporation of an active layer within a void forming box with a view to making dual use of the pervious pavement to provide both a drainage feature and a ground gas vent, whilst providing an active layer for the oxidation of methane by bacterial action. The methane removal was observed to have been effected by microbial oxidation and as such offers great promise as a method of methane removal to allow for development of landfills.