1 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 Francisco Suetônio Mota Full Professor, Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering – Universidade Federal do Ceará – Fortaleza (CE), Brazil. Lorena S. Monteiro Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal do Ceará – Fortaleza (CE), Brazil. Wildson Max B. da Silva Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal do Ceará – Fortaleza (CE), Brazil. David A. Borges Department of Aquaculture, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte – Natal (RN), Brazil Address for correspondence: Francisco Suetônio Mota – Av. da Universidade, 2853, Benfica – CEP 60020-181 – Fortaleza (CE), Brazil – E-mail: suetonio@ufc.br Received on: 06/10/2019 Accepted on: 12/19/2019 ABSTRACT This study determined the hourly variations in the concentration of methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), and oxygen (O 2 ) during 24-hour periods in a sanitary landfill located in Northeast Brazil, with a predominantly hot tropical mild semi-arid climate. Data were collected over 24 hours in four campaigns in November 2014 and January, March, and April 2015. The measurements were taken in a drain of the sanitary landfill using a portable gas analyzer. We found that, in general, the highest methane concentrations corresponded to the highest biogas temperatures. The maximum concentration of CH 4 (59.2%) occurred at a temperature of 36.8ºC, while the minimum concentration of CH 4 (43.2%) was identified at a temperature of 25.4ºC. No relationship was found between CH 4 emissions and rainfall, with temperature being the factor that most influenced the concentration of this gas. Keywords: solid wastes; methane emissions; carbon dioxide emissions; nychthemeral analysis; temperature; biogas generation. RESUMO Neste trabalho foram determinadas as variações horárias das concentrações de metano (CH 4 ), dióxido de carbono (CO 2 ) e oxigênio (O 2 ), ao longo de 24 horas de medições em um aterro sanitário localizado na região nordeste do Brasil, onde predomina o clima tropical quente semiárido brando. Foram realizadas quatro coletas de dados durante 24 horas, cada, nos meses de novembro de 2014, e janeiro, março e abril de 2015. As medições foram feitas em um dreno do aterro sanitário, utilizando-se um analisador portátil de gás. Constatou-se que as maiores concentrações de metano foram encontradas para os maiores valores de temperatura do biogás. A máxima concentração de CH 4 (59,2%) ocorreu para a temperatura de 36,8ºC, enquanto a mínima concentração de CH 4 (43,2%) foi determinada para a temperatura de 25,4ºC. Não se observou relação entre a emissão de CH 4 e a ocorrência ou não de chuvas, sendo a temperatura o fator que mais influenciou a concentração desse gás. Palavras-chave: resíduos sólidos; emissões de metano; emissões de dióxido de carbono; análise nictemeral; temperatura e geração de biogás. DOI: 10.5327/Z2176-94782190077 CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS AND HOURLY VARIATIONS IN BIOGAS CONCENTRATION IN A SANITARY LANDFILL IN NORTHEAST BRAZIL CARACTERÍSTICAS CLIMÁTICAS E VARIAÇÕES HORÁRIAS DA CONCENTRAÇÃO DO BIOGÁS EM UM ATERRO SANITÁRIO LOCALIZADO NO NORDESTE DO BRASIL http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6061-4539 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9513-1000 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4494-7605 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2319-0313 mailto:suetonio@ufc.br Mota, F.S. et al. 2 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 INTRODUCTION According to Nabavi-Pelesaraei et al. (2017), the ex- ponential increase in both technological development and human population since the industrial revolution led to continuing growth in the amount of waste pro- duced. In addition, environmental issues related to the indiscriminate production of various types of waste have become more important than ever. Further, according to Karak, Bhagat and Bhattacharyya (2012), municipal solid waste (MSW) is expected to double over the next decade due to population growth, increasing urbanization, and the social and economic development of low- and middle-income countries. Sanitary landfills have been used as a solution for MSW disposal. However, various environmental problems can result from their use, especially gas production, whose characteristics depend on the decomposition of the waste. MSW decomposes in sanitary landfills due to various processes with several phases. Residue decomposition depends on numerous factors, mainly the presence or absence of oxygen, the availability of microorganisms, and the environmental conditions. Essentially, organic matter, which is usually at its greatest volume in the waste mass, is decomposed by bacteria and, to a lesser extent, fungi and protozoa (LUCERONI, 2017). Escamilla-García, Tavera-Cortés and Pérez-Soto (2017) points out that biogas is generated in particularly high volumes in landfills (also known as landfill gas), and that organic matter is decomposed in the landfill in the absence of oxygen, resulting in biogas emission to the atmosphere. The main components of the gas produced in landfills are methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), ammonia, ni- trous oxide, and sulfur oxide. Methane is the gas that most contributes to the greenhouse effect (JIN, 2015). It is produced by the anaerobic biodegradation of MSW and represents 50–55% of the biogas generated in landfills (JOHARI et al., 2012). According to Riddick et al. (2018), the chemical break- down of organic matter in landfills represents a signifi- cant source of CH 4 . Current estimates suggest that land- fills are responsible for 3–19% of global anthropogenic emissions. Net CH 4 emissions resulting from biogeo- chemical processes and their modulation by microbes in landfills are poorly understood due to imprecise knowledge of environmental constraints. This uncer- tainty regarding absolute CH 4 emissions from landfills is therefore considerable. According to Oliveira (2000), landfill biogas has a molar composition of 40–55% methane, 35–50% carbon di- oxide, and 0–20% nitrogen. MSW landfills are the third-largest source of human-re- lated methane emissions worldwide, accounting for approximately 15.4% of such emissions in 2015 (EPA, 2016; XI and XIONG, 2013). Methane, the main gas produced from waste decom- position, is the second-largest contributor to anthro- pogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. This situation requires attention in Brazil, where approximately 4,000 open dumps are still being used, contributing to envi- ronmental contamination (MACIEL; JUCÁ, 2012). As stated by Abushammala et al. (2014), the migration of CH 4 from landfills to the surrounding environment negatively affects both humankind and the environ- ment. Therefore, developing management techniques to decrease CH 4 emissions from landfills is crucial to minimize global warming and reduce the human risks associated with CH 4 migration. The environmental impact of gaseous emission from landfills, which are globally or regionally significant, can be mainly grouped into contribution to the green- house effect and damage to the ecosystem. Apart from that, the risk of explosion and the odor problem due to some trace gases can also be identified as significant impacts. Landfill gas can pose an environmental threat because methane is a greenhouse gas and many of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are odorous and toxic (DANTHUREBANDARA et al., 2012). According to Trulli et al. (2013), organic carbon is the common element among the biodegradable materials that allow the development of energy and production of methane; many studies have investigated municipal waste on other sites. Hourly variations in biogas in sanitary landfill 3 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 Qasaimeh, Abdallah-Quasaimeh and Hani (2016) state that functional parameters, such as abiotic factors and landfill operating procedures, influence the rate of landfill gas production. The abiotic factors of con- cern can be summarized as pH, nutrients, inhibitors, temperature, and water content, while the landfill op- erating procedures of interest can be summarized as waste composition, addition of sewage sludge, shred- ding, compaction, soil cover, leachate recirculation, and pre-composting. According to Moreira et al. (2017), factors such as rainfall affect the physical, chemical, and biological processes responsible for the consumption of organic matter and generation of biogas in landfills. A case of higher biogas production took place about two months after a peak of heavy rainfall, preceded and followed by periods of drought. Silva and Campos (2008) evaluated gas production and quality at the Bandeirantes Landfill, São Paulo, Brazil. The results of this work indicated that the gas produc- tion of a landfill well depends not only on favorable fac- tors to anaerobic degradation but on the conditions of the landfill drainage system and external environmen- tal factors. The landfill ecosystem is quite diverse due to the het- erogeneous nature of waste and the variety of landfill operating characteristics. The diversity of the ecosys- tem promotes stability; however, the system is strongly influenced by environmental conditions such as tem- perature, pH, the presence of toxins, moisture content, and the oxidation-reduction potential (DANTHURE- BANDARA et al., 2012). Rada et al. (2015) revealed that temperature affects the kinetics of anaerobic biodegradation. They further stated that the lack of information about the hydrolog- ical balance of a landfill and, consequently, the water content of waste leads to uncertainties and approxima- tions in estimating the biogas potential. Biogas generation increases significantly with tempera- ture, as demonstrated by the results of several studies (ANDREOTTOLA; COSSU, 1998). Amini, Reinhart and Niskanen (2013) highlight the chal- lenges in measuring large-scale emissions, i.e., under actual landfill conditions, as well as the broad fluctua- tions of these emissions over space and time. According to Zhang et al. (2019), for the foreseeable future, landfills will continue to be one of the main methods for solid waste disposal. Thus, systematic and in-depth research on greenhouse gas emissions from landfills is necessary. Biogas is little explored in Brazil, and its potential re- mains controversial, mainly due to the different evalu- ation methodologies adopted. Considering the existing estimates, Brazil exploits only 7 to 20% of the biogas produced in landfills for energy purposes (NASCIMEN- TO et al., 2019). According to Maciel and Jucá (2012), Brazil has few projects for energy recovery due to some factors: uncertainty in predicting the generation of biogas for local waste conditions and climates; lack of de- velopment of local technology (specific equipment for landfill biogas); low financial viability of the elec- trical energy produced from biogas in the current market scenario. Pagliuso and Regattieri (2008) conducted research in the sanitary landfill of São Carlos, Brazil, a city with 200,000 inhabitants, to verify the feasibility of the thermal treatment of the leachate using landfill gas as the energy source. So far, the results show that there is enough energy to make the leachate inciner- ation possible, but more research is underway, since the gas flow rate may have a large variation from well to well, and not all of them have been assessed. The chemical balance showed that the air pollution potential for the thermal process is small and, even with no gas treatment, most of the emissions would be lower than the one established by the environ- mental legislation. The landfill gas generated in MSW landfills can be emitted to the atmosphere through the gas collection system or by its escape through the final cover layer (LOPES; MACIEL; JUCÁ, 2012). In Brazil, few studies have addressed gas emission through drains and cover layers. Lopes, Maciel and Jucá (2012) investigated superfi- cial CH4 emissions at three different cover layers in an experimental cell, located in the Muribeca Landfill, Recife, Pernambuco. According to them, the study of alternative cover layers and their physical-chemical and constructive properties to reduce CH4 emissions Mota, F.S. et al. 4 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 and prevent pollution of the atmosphere is extremely important for most small- and medium-sized landfills in Brazil, where the recovery of landfill gas is incipient and impractical. Many authors have employed the biochemical meth- ane potential (BMP) assay to determine the methane generation potential from a certain amount of refuse on a small scale. Schirmer et al. (2014) monitored the generation of biogas with BMP assays, commonly used to assess the anaerobic biodegradability of solid and liquid wastes under controlled conditions. The experiment used 5 g of substrate of both refuses (fresh and one-year-old wastes), digested with 250 mL of inoculum in 1 L flasks as bioreactors (all of them in triplicate, operating under batch conditions at ± 35ºC). Despite the distinct ages of the refuses evaluated, they showed no significant dif- ferences in volume (near 1,800 mL) and composition (55% methane) of the biogas generated in 80 days of incubation under mesophilic conditions. The important parameters of both refuses (such as moisture content, volatile solids, and chemical oxygen demand) also pre- sented very similar initial values. Despite the number of studies available in the lit- erature, the comparison of biodegradability data between them is hard due to the diversity in exper- imental conditions, such as substrate and inoculum amounts, inoculum nature, the flask headspace vol- ume, environmental parameters, etc., besides the dif- ferent units in which results are presented (ANGELI- DAKI et al., 2009). Biogas generation capacity from sanitary landfills has usually been investigated in Brazil with interna- tional models. According to Crovador et al. (2018), international data may not be suitable for landfills in Brazil. Thus, field studies need to be carried out to determine biogas pro- duction from landfills. Zhang et al. (2019) highlight that researchers from different countries have recently proved that land- fills are an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nonetheless, few reviews have been con- ducted within the associated fields, resulting in a lack of comprehensive understanding related to relevant study achievements. Few studies have investigated hourly variations in bio- gas production in landfills. In Brazil, we found no data on hourly variations in gas emission through drains. Rada et al. (2015) used a modified model of biogas generation in a sanitary landfill in Italy. The changes considered the role of the temperature field normal- ly established within each layer of waste. The study revealed that temperature affects the anaerobic bio- degradation kinetics. Therefore, nine sets of kinetic constants, derived from literature, were employed for the simulations. Results showed significant variability in the maximal hourly biogas flow on a yearly basis, with consequences for the collectible amount during the operating period of a hypothetical engine. The ap- proach is a useful tool to assess the lowest and highest biogas productivity in order to analyze the viability of biogas exploitation for energy purposes. Studies on variations of landfill biogas emission throughout the day are important, especially when us- ing this gas for energy production. This study carried out a nychthemeral analysis (contin- uous analysis) of gas emissions in a sanitary landfill to determine variations in the concentrations of CH4, CO2, and oxygen (O 2 ) over 24 hours of measurements. Investigations like this (field studies) are essential, mainly because they consider the specific climatic characteristics of Northeast Brazil. MATERIALS AND METHODS The research was developed in the Western Metropol- itan Sanitary Landfill of Caucaia (Aterro Sanitário Mu- nicipal Oeste de Caucaia — ASMOC), located in the mu- nicipality of Caucaia, in the state of Ceará, Northeast Brazil. The area of the landfill is within the coordinates 3º45’ and 3º47’ S, and 38º43’ and 38º45’W (GOVERNO DO ESTADO DO CEARÁ, 2015). The area for waste dis- posal is 78.47 hectares. This sanitary landfill receives MSW from the cities of Fortaleza and Caucaia. On average, the solid waste destined for the landfill has the following physical com- Hourly variations in biogas in sanitary landfill 5 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 position: food waste (35.8%), flexible plastic (12.4%), diapers (8.4%), rags (7.7%), paper (4.8%), rigid plastic (3.2%), garden residue (3.0%), cardboard (1.9%), news- paper (1.8%), PET (1.5%), dark glass (1.4%), cartons (1.6%), iron (0.8%), light glass (1.2%), rubber (1.1%), aluminum (0.8%), and others (12.6%). The gravimetric composition was performed in 2016. The method used for waste characterization was sampling and weighing refuse by category. The cover layer is about 60 cm thick and consists of 26.4% coarse sand, 19.2% fine sand, 33.4% silt, and 21.0% clay, with a density of 1.22 g/cm3. A clay layer ensures waterproofing of the landfill base. Gas capture in drains has been done passively. A nychthemeral analysis of gas emissions was carried out in a drain of one cell of the sanitary landfill, with readings taken at intervals of 30 minutes. Data were collected over 24 hours in four campaigns in November 2014 and January, March, and April 2015. The overall average mass flow of CH 4 and CO 2 emitted through the cover layer near the drain was determined as follows: 0.77x10-2 g/m².s. and 1.54x10-2 g/m².s, respectively. The drain where the measurements were taken was adapt- ed for the installation of the gas meter, as shown in Figure 1. The drain (approximate height — 12 m) was located in a landfill cell in full gas production (methanogenic phase) (MONTEIRO, 2016). Figure 1 – Gas measurement in a drain of the Sanitary Landfill in Caucaia, Ceará, Brazil. Mota, F.S. et al. 6 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 The gas measurements were taken using a LANDTEC model GEM™ 5000 portable gas analyzer. GEM™ detec- tion principle for methane and carbon dioxide is based on the ability of these gases to absorb electromagnetic radiation in the infrared range. Table 1 shows the mean monthly rainfall in the re- search area in the months in which the gas concentra- tions were measured. The heaviest rainfall occurred during April and May, which is common in the region where the survey was conducted. In November, the rainfall was negligible, which is also usual during this period. In the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil, the highest rainfall occurs during the first six months of the year, while in the last six months, rainfall is very low. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 2 shows the concentrations of CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 in the biogas collected in a drain of the landfill on different days. The table also contains data on gas temperature. The highest temperatures occurred in November 2014 (36.8ºC) and January 2015 (36.1ºC), while the lowest temperatures were identified in March and April 2015 (23.1 and 25.4°C, respectively). Thus, the greatest concentrations of CH 4 happened at the highest biogas temperatures. The maximum con- centration of CH 4 (59.2%) occurred at a temperature of 36.8ºC, while at a temperature of 25.4ºC, the methane concentration was 43.2%. These results corroborate the findings of Aghdam, Scheutz and Kjeldsen (2017), who declared that an Table 1 – Monthly precipitation in the research area. Caucaia, Ceará, Brazil. Measurement Period Monthly precipitation Normal (mm) Max. (mm) Deviation (%) Normal (mm) Mean (mm) Deviation (%) 1 Nov/14 3.4 8.2 141.7 3.4 3.2 -6.7 2 Jan/15 106.5 106 -0.5 102.8 50.4 -51 3 Apr/15 277.9 685.2 146.6 282.7 325.4 15.1 4 May/15 287.9 712 147.3 287.4 313 8.9 Table 2 – Concentrations of CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 and temperature of the biogas from the Caucaia Sanitary Landfill, Ceará, Brazil, in hourly measurements over 24 hours. Days 8 & 9 Nov, 2014 9 & 10 Jan, 2015 23 & 24, Mar 2015 23 & 24 Apr, 2015 Parameter CH 4 (%) CO 2 (%) O 2 (%) Gas temp. (°C) CH 4 (%) CO 2 (%) O 2 (%) Gas temp. (°C) CH 4 (%) CO 2 (%) O 2 (%) Gas temp. (°C) CH 4 (%) CO 2 (%) O 2 (%) Gas temp (ºC) Mean 58.5 40.2 0.0 34.7 55.8 44.2 0.0 34.9 56.9 42.9 0.2 25.2 57.1 41.0 0.1 27.4 Minimum 57.0 40.0 0.0 31.9 55.4 43.8 0.0 31.9 53.8 41.8 0.0 23.1 43.2 33.5 0.0 25.4 Maximum 59.2 41.7 1.3 36.8 56.2 44.6 0.1 36.1 57.9 44.7 4.4 26.7 58.6 41.7 4.0 29.3 Mode 58.8 40.2 0.0 35.4 55.6 44.4 0.0 35.4 57.3 42.8 0.0 26.1 57.4 41.5 0.0 29.2 Standard deviation 0.6 0.2 0.2 1.2 0.2 0.2 0.0 1.2 0.8 0.6 0.7 1.1 2.4 1.3 0.6 1.2 Hourly variations in biogas in sanitary landfill 7 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 increase in temperature leads to a higher produc- tion of CH 4 . Aghdam, Scheutz and Kjeldsen (2017) determined and compared the BMP from different types of shredder waste (SW) — fresh, old, and sieved. The biotic exper- iments showed that when the moisture content was 35% w/w, and the temperature was 20–25ºC, CH 4 pro- duction was extremely low. Raising the temperature from 20–25 to 37ºC resulted in significantly higher CH 4 production, while further increasing the tempera- ture from 37 to 55ºC led to higher CH 4 production, but to a lesser extent. A study carried out by Gollapalli and Kota (2018) esti- mated CH 4 and CO 2 emissions from a landfill in North- east India using a flux chamber, from September 2015 to August 2016. The average emission rates of CH 4 and CO 2 were 68 and 92 mg /min/m2, respective- ly. Emissions were higher in the Summer and lower during the Winter. The diurnal variation indicated that emissions follow a trend similar to that of temperature in all seasons. CH 4 presented an excellent correlation with temperature. The correlation coefficients for CH 4 and temperature during the Summer, monsoon, and Winter were 0.99, 0.87, and 0.97, respectively. The research area showed no significant seasonal vari- ation, only periods with more or less rainfall. There are few changes in the climate of the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil during the year. We found no significant differences in CH 4 emissions due to rainfall. In the research area, the period of very low precipitation coincides with the highest ambient temperatures; thus, as pointed out above, the tem- perature of the biogas contributed most to the changes in CH 4 concentration. In studies developed in regions with seasonal vari- ations, the concentration of landfill gas changed throughout the year. Rada et al. (2015) developed a model of biogas gener- ation and used it in a sanitary landfill in Italy. Results showed significant variability in maximum hourly bio- gas flows on a yearly basis. Based on the considered scenarios, the annual average for the calculated max- imum hourly biogas flow presented large variability, ranging from 114 Nm3 h−1 to 180 Nm3 h−1. Some studies have shown that higher CH 4 and CO 2 emissions are more common during the wet season than the dry season. Figure 2 – Hourly concentrations (%) of CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 and biogas temperature (ºC) on November 8 and 9, 2014. 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 06 :0 4 07 :0 4 08 :0 4 09 :0 4 10 :0 4 11 :0 4 12 :0 4 13 :0 4 14 :0 4 15 :0 4 16 :0 4 17 :0 4 18 :0 4 19 :0 4 20 :0 4 21 :0 4 22 :0 4 23 :0 4 00 :0 4 01 :0 4 02 :0 4 03 :0 4 04 :0 4 05 :0 4 06 :0 4 CH 4 CO 2 O 2 Gas Temperature Mota, F.S. et al. 8 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 Figure 3 – Hourly concentrations (%) of CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 and biogas temperature (ºC) on January 9 and 10, 2015. 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 13 :3 7 14 :3 7 15 :3 7 16 :3 7 17 :3 7 18 :3 7 19 :3 7 20 :3 7 21 :3 7 22 :3 7 23 :3 7 00 :3 7 01 :3 7 02 :3 7 03 :3 7 04 :3 7 05 :3 7 06 :3 7 07 :3 7 08 :3 7 09 :3 7 10 :3 7 11 :3 7 12 :3 7 13 :3 7 CH 4 CO 2 O 2 Gas Temperature According to Abushammala, Basri and Younes (2016), landfill gas emissions were measured in a landfill under tropical conditions in Malaysia to investigate seasonal variations in CH 4 and CO 2 emissions. The study results revealed that CH 4 and CO 2 emissions varied from 0 to 1,602 g m-2 d-1 and from 5 to 2,753 g m-2 d-1 during the wet and dry seasons, respectively, corroborating that higher CH 4 and CO 2 emissions are more frequent during the wet season than the dry season. Figures 2 to 5 show the hourly variations in CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 concentrations and biogas temperature over 24 hours for the four collection periods. There were no significant hourly variations in biogas emission, with small differences between the mini- mum and maximum values for the concentrations of CH 4 and CO 2 . November (Figure 2) had the maximum tempera- ture (36.8ºC) and the highest methane concentration (59.2%) for all measurements. The minimum tempera- ture in this period was 31.9ºC, at which the methane concentration was 57%. Gas temperatures determined in January (Figure 3) ranged from 31.9 to 36.1ºC, at which the CH 4 concen- trations were 55.4 and 56.2%, respectively. March 2015 (Figure 4) presented the lowest gas tem- perature (23.1ºC), at which the CH 4 concentration was 53.8%. During this period, a concentration of 57.9% methane was determined at the highest tem- perature (26.7ºC). The lowest gas temperature during April (Figure 5) was 25.4ºC, with a CH 4 concentration of 43.2%. The highest temperature was 29.3ºC, with a methane concentra- tion of 58.6%. As discussed above, the maximum concentrations of CH 4 were generally found at the highest biogas tem- peratures, with the minimum concentrations occurring at the lowest temperatures. Hourly variations in biogas in sanitary landfill 9 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 Figure 4 – Hourly concentrations (%) of CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 and biogas temperature (ºC) on March 23 and 24, 2015. 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 05 :4 5 06 :4 5 07 :4 5 08 :4 5 09 :4 5 10 :4 5 11 :4 5 12 :4 5 13 :4 5 14 :4 5 15 :4 5 16 :4 5 17 :4 5 18 :4 5 19 :4 5 20 :4 5 21 :4 5 22 :4 5 23 :4 5 00 :4 5 01 :4 5 02 :4 5 03 :4 5 04 :4 5 05 :4 5 CH 4 CO 2 O 2 Gas Temperature Figure 5 – Hourly concentrations (%) of CH 4 , CO 2 , and O 2 and biogas temperature (ºC) on April 22 and 23, 2015. 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 11 :5 4 12 :5 4 13 :5 4 14 :5 4 15 :5 4 16 :5 4 17 :5 4 18 :5 4 19 :5 4 20 :5 4 21 :5 4 22 :5 4 23 :5 4 00 :5 4 01 :5 4 02 :5 4 03 :5 4 04 :5 4 05 :5 4 06 :5 4 07 :5 4 08 :5 4 09 :5 4 10 :5 4 11 :5 4 CH 4 CO 2 O 2 Gas Temperature Mota, F.S. et al. 10 RBCIAMB | n.54 | dez 2019 | 1-12 - ISSN 2176-9478 CONCLUSIONS The semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil, where the re- search was carried out, showed no significant seasonal vari- ation. Consequently, no major changes are expected in the gas concentrations of sanitary landfills in the area over time. The variations in hourly gas emissions determined in this research indicated that, in general, the maximum methane concentrations occurred at the highest biogas temperatures. Biogas temperature, therefore, contributed most to the changes in CH 4 concentration. The maximum concentra- tion of CH 4 (59.2%) occurred at a temperature of 36.8ºC, and the minimum (43.2%) at a temperature of 25.4ºC. As demonstrated by the results of several studies, bio- gas generation increases with temperature. This finding is important for the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil, where biogas temperatures reach values above 35ºC for much of the year. Biogas emissions had no significant hourly variations. Small differences were identified between the mini- mum and maximum values for the concentrations of CH 4 and CO 2 . We found no relationship between CH 4 emissions and rainfall. In the research area, the period with very low rainfall coincides with the highest ambient tempera- tures. Thus, temperature was the factor that most influenced the concentration of this gas. The highest temperature occurred during a period of almost no precipitation (November 2014), when the highest con- centration of methane (59.2%) was detected. Studies on hourly variations in landfill gas emissions in Brazil are virtually non-existent. We recommend the development of further research. Estimating the potential biogas is particularly import- ant to assess the feasibility of its exploitation for ener- gy purposes. Investigations like this (field studies) are essential, mainly because they consider the specific climatic characteristics of Northeast Brazil. REFERENCES ABUSHAMMALA, M. F. M.; BASRI, N. E. A.; IRWAN, D.; YOUNES, M. K. Methane oxidation in landfill cover soils: A review. 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