Assessment methodology for volatile organic compounds from leachate treatment and other waste handling activities

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are typically defined as those predominantly presentin the vapour phase in air at ambient temperature, They range in volatility from methaneto n-e 16 above and include all chemical groups - alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, esters,glycol ethers, halogens and hydrocarbons, Many of the voes are produced and emittedwhen organic matter decomposes from microbiological activity, A great number ofvolatile compounds been identified in the air in the vicinity of landfills, voes emittedfrom landfills pose as health concern and odour annoyance for the neighbourhood, Highconcentrations of voes have also been identified in the working environments at wastehandling facilities, Emissions of volatile organics from leachate, and how the treatmentsystem affects the fate of the voes have been reported, A variety of different samplingstrategies and sampling media can be used to address different monitoring requirements,including adsorption tubes and impingers with a suitable absorption solution, Finalanalysis of voes can be performed with a combination of thermodesorption ofadsorption tubes and Ge-MS, Model studies of the emission of voes from the watersurface, at the actual site in ponds or in the laboratory, can be performed in order tofacilitate budget calculations using a special designed hood, Results from analysis ofleachate before and after treatment procedures, using purge and trap methodology, showshow some identified voes such as for example benzene, toluene, xylen and trimethylbenzene are to some extent removed from the liquid,