A Practical Approach to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Open Dumps through Infrastructure Restructuring: A Case Study in Nanjing City, China

Jing Ma, Zhanbin Luo, Fu Chen, Qianlin Zhu, Shaoliang Zhang and Gang-Jun Liu
Additional contact information
Jing Ma: Low Carbon Energy Institute, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221008, China
Zhanbin Luo: School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221043, China
Fu Chen: Low Carbon Energy Institute, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221008, China
Qianlin Zhu: Low Carbon Energy Institute, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221008, China
Shaoliang Zhang: School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221043, China
Gang-Jun Liu: Geospatial Science, College of Science, Engineering and Health, RMIT University, Melbourne 3000, Australia

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: A new environmental ban has forced the restructure of open dumps in China since 1 July 2011. A technical process was established in this study that is feasible for the upgrade of open dumps through restructuring. The feasibility of restructuring and the benefit of greenhouse gas emission reductions were assessed according to field surveys of five landfills and four dumps in Nanjing. The results showed that the daily processing capacities of the existing landfills have been unable to meet the growth of municipal solid waste (MSW), making restructuring of the landfills imperative. According to an assessment of the technical process, only four sites in Nanjing were suitable for upgrading. Restructuring the Jiaozishan landfill effectively reduced the leachate generation rate by 5.84% under its scale when expanded by 60.7% in 2015. CO 2 emissions were reduced by approximately 55,000–86,000 tons per year, in which biogas power generation replaced fossil fuels Fossil fuels accounted for the largest proportion, up to 45,000–60,000 tons. Photovoltaic power generation on the overlying land has not only reduced CO 2 emissions to 26,000–30,000 tons per year but has also brought in continuing income from the sale of electricity. The funds are essential for developing countries such as China, which lack long-term financial support for landfill management after closure.

Keywords: municipal solid waste; landfill upgrading; leachate control; energy saving; urban management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2804/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2804/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2804-:d:162520

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().