VOC Emissions from a Landfill and the Impact ont Tropospheric Ozone

Abstract

This paper attempts to demonstrate the impact on tropospheric ozone according to VOC emissions from a landfill, located in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area (RJMA) at Niteroi city. It is well known that ozone is formed by the reactions of VOC, NOx and sunlight. The actual situation of this area is a low-medium ozone concentration due to high levels of NOx. The contribution of high VOC values from the landfill emissions will lead to a new situation with higher ozone values. The emissions of Morro do Céu Controlled Landfill (ACMC) (Niterói) were compiled together with meteorological data using OZIPR trajectory model coupled with SAPRC chemical mechanism. The input data for SAPRC were obtained using a VOC speciation by a representative sample collected at December, 2009 above the landfill soil. The samplings were done using evacuated electropolished canisters, and the chemical analyses were done by GC-MS following U.S.EPA TO-15 methodology. The base case used was adjusted for the RJMA using the annual emissions inventory done by INEA (Environmental Agency of Rio de Janeiro State) and the VOC speciation was performed at Rio de Janeiro downtown area. The ozone modeled for RJMA was compared with the ozone modeled for the landfill area, where the differences between the modeling procedures were the VOC speciation and hourly emissions. The results indicated an increase of 27% for ozone in the region of the landfill, indicating that the VOC emissions have to be considered.