Microorganisms as facilitators of energy and resource recovery from landfills

media release: 3:30-4:30pm, Room 1115 Wisconsin Energy Institute and online. This event is offered both in-person at the Wisconsin Energy Institute and online through Zoom Webinar. If attending online, registration is required. Click here to register for this and all other webinars as part of the Sustainable Energy Seminar series in Fall 2024.

Join us on September 9 at 3:30 p.m. for this Sustainable Energy Seminar presentation by Dr. Erica L-W Majumder, assistant professor of bacteriology at UW-Madison.

Abstract

Microorganisms in landfills are the key players in breaking down the solid waste materials and in converting that waste to useful and recoverable, revenue-generating products such as renewable natural gas. However, the degradation of solid waste, including organic materials, is often slower than predicted, and for certain materials like plastics, they can persist in landfills for centuries. Since it is desirable to increase landfill degradation rates to conserve landfill airspace and to maximize renewable natural gas production, it is necessary to understand how these microorganisms are working together to break down solid wastes and what is limiting their degradation and natural gas production rates. To date, there is very little research on these landfill microorganisms, especially across multiple phases of landfill operation and depths. To answer these questions about the microorganisms, we are doing a study at the Dane County Landfill Site No 2. We collected samples at multiple depths from top to bottom during the installation of four landfill gas extraction wells, two from the closed area and two from the active area. We compared how the microorganisms changed with depth, time and surrounding materials. We gained insights into the sequence of microorganisms needed to convert solid waste to methane. This is informing us on ways

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we could stimulate this process.