The S.An.A.® concept: Semi-aerobic, Anaerobic, Aerated bioreactor landfill
Highlights: • Sustainable Hybrid bioreactor landfill lab-scale application. • Semi-aerobic, Anaerobic, Aerated (S.An.A.®) concept. • Enhancement of methane production and biochemical processes. • Aeration and flushing for reaching Final Storage Quality. - Abstract: Hybrid Bioreactor Landfills are designed to enhance and speed up biological processes, aiming at reducing the duration of post operational phase until landfill completion. S.An.A.®(Semi-aerobic, Anaerobic, Aerated) concept consists in a Hybrid Bioreactor featuring a first semi-aerobic phase to enhance the methane production occurring in the following anaerobic step and a forced aeration for the abatement of the residual emissions. At the end of the last step, semi-aerobic conditions are restored and flushing applied for leaching residual non-biodegradable compounds. Results of the application of S.An.A.® concept to a lab scale bioreactor system showed that pre-aeration was effective in controlling the concentration of VFA, increasing pH and stimulating methane production during anaerobic phase; in particular with intermittent airflow the methane potential was 50% higher respect to control reactors. Forced aeration reduced organic compounds and nitrogen concentration in leachate of an order of magnitude, better performing in low airflow reactors. S.An.A.® Hybrid bioreactors proved to be an efficient system both for increasing methane production and reaching landfill completion in shorter time, suggesting that with proper landfill management, the duration of post-closure care might be reduced by 25–35%.