Influence of sediment characteristics on methane formation by dredged sediment
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XVII: "Dredging in a Sensitive Environment" - 2004, Hamburg, Germany
Authors:
J. Gebert, A. Gröngröft, B. Maass, H. Köthe
Abstract: Freshly sampled riverbed sediment from nine German federal waterways exhibiting a wide range of physical, chemical and biological properties was examined for methane formation. Methanogenesis within 500 days followed a typical course of lag phase, methanogenic phase and steady state phase. The extent and amplitude of each phase varied strongly between sediments and could be correlated well with only a few standard analytical parameters. Lag phase duration depended strongly on the content of inorganic electron acceptors, maximum and steady state methanogenesis were mainly determined by sediment total nitrogen. As revealed by analysis of sediment density fractions, total nitrogen reflected the share of easily degradable macroorganic matter. TN may therefore serve as a standard analytical parameter to estimate methane formation prior to disposal.
However, results proved to not be conferrable to older sediments already disposed of for longer than 10 years.
Keywords: dredging material, sediment, methane formation