Technical Bulletin No. 0790: Evaluation of the EPA-Recommended Approach to Predicting Air Emissions from Pulp and Paper Industry Landfills

<p align="justify">EPA used the Landfill Air Emissions Estimation Model (LAEEM) to calculate Clean Air Act (Title V) requirements for emissions of bulk gases and HAPs from landfills. LAEEM is a PC-based automated estimation tool developed and calibrated specifically for municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. Field studies have shown that even for MSW, there is significant variation in the values of model parameters, and the user of LAEEM for MSW landfills would therefore be well advised to consider determining actual values through a field calibration study. Compared with MSW landfills, the contents of pulp and paper industry landfills are expected to decompose at lower rates, and ultimately to release lower amounts of methane and non-methane organic compounds, because they are either deficient in nutrients (especially nitrogen) or are inorganic, and because of their higher degree of saturation. Consequently, the extrapolation of MSW landfill emission data may not be appropriate for modeling emissions from pulp and paper industry landfills. <br /><br />This technical bulletin examines the suitability of applying LAEEM and the AP-42 landfill emission factors to the prediction of bulk gas and HAP emissions from pulp and paper industry landfills, and explores alternative predictive approaches. It concludes that LAEEM, using the EPA-recommended default model parameters, would not provide an accurate representation of methane and HAP emissions from pulp and paper industry landfills. More realistic estimates of methane emissions could be obtained with modified parameter values, but would probably still not provide a realistic estimate of HAP emissions because LAEEM does not account for the attenuating effects of biodegradation and adsorption, nor does it account for the potentially slower migration of landfill gas through a fully saturated landfill zone.</p>