Methane Emission from Panki Open Dump Site of Kanpur, India

In developing countries, quantities of solid waste generation is increasing day by day and most of which is disposed off through landfilling and open dumping resulting into the release of significant quantities of GHG. CH4, the major gas produced by these activities, is known to cause global warming. The paper reports the estimates of CH4 calculated by using IPCC Default, FOD method and LandGEM model, version 3.02 from Panki open dump site of Kanpur, India. The annual average CH4 emission rates from Panki open dump site is found as 197.33, 24.27 and 25.14 Gg by IPCC Default method, FOD and LandGEM respectively for the period 2010-2030. The study reveals that IPCC Default method over estimate the result therefore it is not recommended for open dump site. however, LandGEM is recommended over FOD method for open dumps due to the fact that [a] estimates of CH4 emission is very near to GHG emission by FOD method [b] simplicity in model parameters [c] avoidance of over estimation, if parameters are calculated as per the actual site conditions. So the present study reveals that LandGEM provides better estimation compared to other method and the CH4 emission rate is found as 25.14 Gg/year for the Panki open dump site, Kanpur.The assessment of methane emission potential reveals the fact that upgrading the open dumps into landfill increases the methane emission rates and their utilization potential and adding the landfill to fill the future needs and utilization of landfill gases.