Determination of Methane Explosion Level in the Velekince Municipal Solid Waste Landfill

Management of the sanitary landfills represents one of the main challenges of the waste sector in Kosovo.At present, around 70% of the waste is disposed in sanitary landfills under semi-anaerobic conditions without gas collections.Non-adequate management of the sanitary landfills is a common practice of the waste management in the country.The paper presents determination of the explosion level of the methane in the Velekince municipal solid waste sanitary landfill.The methane concentration measurements from three different passive degassing wells of the landfill during the four months period (June-October 2017) were performed by using a portable combustible gas meter 8800B.In contrast to the degassing point (well 2) where maximal concentration of 29,200 ppm corresponding to 58.4% of low explosion level for methane was recorded, degassing point (well 3) showed a minimal concentration of 2.700 ppm and 5.4% of low explosion level, speaking for various waste structure distribution and phase of biodegradation of the deposited material.The results recorded show that the concentration of methane is within the lower explosive limits.Control measures and installing a ventilation system in the landfill are recommended.