Methane emission from open drain

Abstract

Solid waste that comes along with the waste water from house hold gets deposited at the bottom of the drain. With passage of time, this solid waste starts decomposing and starts releasing methane. Methane is an important greenhouse gas which is non-toxic, but highly flammable. It is also an asphyxiant and can be fatal. For this reason, every year many people die while cleaning solid sewage of choked drains. Methane emission measurements from three drains of Kolkata were made during 2009-10. The results are presented in this communication. It is found that methane emission is ~4-100 times greater than that from paddy field. Data obtained in this work will be a valuable input for making reliable prediction of methane loading in the atmosphere and alert workers of danger to take adequate safety measure before cleaning sewage sediments.