Assessing climate and air quality benefits of methane mitigation for U.S. landfills
Folorunsho, A., Dudhia, J., Jiang, L., Yokochi, A., Li, Y.. (2026). Assessing climate and air quality benefits of methane mitigation for U.S. landfills. Journal of Environmental Management, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.128707
| Title | Assessing climate and air quality benefits of methane mitigation for U.S. landfills |
|---|---|
| Genre | Article |
| Author(s) | A. Folorunsho, Jimy Dudhia, L. Jiang, A. Yokochi, Y. Li |
| Abstract | Landfills are an important component of the environment, serving as major sources of methane (CH4) and reactive trace gases that contribute to radiative forcing and modify atmospheric chemistry, making them a critical target for mitigation. This study employs modeling to investigate the immediate air quality and indirect radiative effects of mitigating landfill CH4 emissions. The analysis is motivated by the potential of a novel, fuel-flexible combustion technology capable of converting all CH4 emissions to carbon dioxide. Three scenarios are assessed: (BASE) a control simulation with unchanged landfill CH4 emissions; (LCC_NAT) a hypothetical national implementation of the combustion system over a summer month; and (LCC_REG) a regional application over Texas. One-month simulations show that, compared to BASE, LCC_NAT yields clear concentration reductions in surface and column-averaged CH4 (XCH4) of −3.03 and −1.60 ppb across the contiguous United States, while LCC_REG shows declines of −2.38 and −1.42 ppb over Texas. CH4 reductions coincide with increases in hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations under both LCC_NAT and LCC_REG scenarios, indicating an enhanced atmospheric self-cleaning capacity. At the national scale, CH4 reductions in the LCC_NAT scenario also result in improved air quality, with surface concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) decreasing by 32.7 ppb, 0.27 ppb, and 0.01 μg m−3, respectively. Atmospheric cooling is induced within the atmosphere, driven primarily by negative longwave radiative forcing under clear-sky conditions in both LCC_REG (−0.38 W m−2) and LCC_NAT (−0.04 W m−2) scenarios. These cooling effects are stronger under all-sky conditions due to cloud radiative effects, as clouds may absorb efficiently thermal radiation emitted from the surface. Furthermore, net radiative forcing under all-sky conditions leads to surface cooling in LCC_NAT but regional warming in LCC_REG, highlighting the spatial variability of climate responses. |
| Publication Title | Journal of Environmental Management |
| Publication Date | Feb 15, 2026 |
| Publisher's Version of Record | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.128707 |
| OpenSky Citable URL | https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7t72nz5 |
| OpenSky Listing | View on OpenSky |
| MMM Affiliations | WMR |