FluxLab, a methane gas detection and measurement science team of 25 researchers at STFX University, set up the world’s only Simulation Facility for Landfill Emission Experiments (SIMFLEX) in Ontario to evaluate methane measurement tools.
FluxLab Equipment at Work (St. FX University photo)
Dr. Dave Risk, the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government Research Chair in Climate Science and Policy at STFX, is the lead at FluxLab, which does research on green house gasses and emission measurements. Risk said the idea behind the simulation facility is to test measurement technologies used to determine emissions from landfills.
A release from STFX states landfill waste is responsible for about 11 per cent of global methane emissions, adding as the global population continues to climb, landfilled materials and associated methane levels are expected to increase. The release also notes one of the most cost-effective strategies to limit future global warming is to reduce methane emissions, which, in the case of landfills, requires better understanding of how they emit.