Estimation of Methane Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in China Based on Point Emission Sources

The methane (CH4) emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills in China in 2007 were estimated based on database of the three-dimensional emission factors matrix and point sources, by an IPCC recommended FOD (firstorder decay) model. The location, capacity and age of landfills constitute the three dimensions of the emission factors matrix, which were obtained by laboratory analysis and in situ investigation. Key parameters such as waste composition, degradable organic carbon ratio, CH4 correction factor, oxidation factor and recovery rate, were carefully analyzed in terms of these three dimensions. The point sources database consists of 2,107 MSW landfills in cities and towns of China in 2007. The results show that the CH4 emissions from MSW landfills were 1.186 Mt in 2007. Compared with the CH4 emissions of 2.20 Mt in 2005, the significant discrepancy mainly comes from statistical data of landfills, e.g., number of landfills and amount of waste disposed in landfills. CH4 emissions were lower than 700 t for most of the landfills, whereas there were 279 landfills with emissions larger than 1,000 t, and only 10 landfills with emissions larger than 10,000 t. Jiangsu province ranks the largest emitter with 98,700 t while Tibet is the smallest emitter with 2,100 t. In general, the emissions from eastern provinces, such as Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang, were larger than those from western provinces, such as Ningxia, Tibet and Qinghai. Citation: Cai, B.-F., Liu, J.-G., Gao, Q.-X., et al., 2014. Estimation of methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills in China based on point emission sources. Adv. Clim. Change Res. 5(2), doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1248.2014.081.