Methane Evolution from Wastewater Conveyance

Wastewater collection systems could be a significant source of methane (CH4) emissions with readily biodegradable organic waste conveying through predominantly anoxic and anaerobic conditions in well-insulated, below ground infrastructure. However, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories which states that “In most developed countries and in high-income urban areas in other countries, sewers are usually closed and underground. Wastewater in closed underground sewers is not believed to be a significant source of CH4.” This project attempts to understand CH4 evolution by measuring and modeling methane emissions from a few collections systems to confirm or refute the hypothesis supported by the IPCC. The report documents the research methodology, data collection effort, and results of the study. Published by WERF. 194 pages. Online PDF. (2012)

Originally funded as WERF project U2R08a.