I need help in understanding what happens to the Carbon Dioxide during landfill gas oxidation. Does carbon dioxide undergo any chemical changes like Methane?
I am no expert on what goes on in a landfill, but CO2 is the stable oxidised form, i.e. it does not get oxidised any further under normal circumstances (in contrast to methane, which is a reduced form that can be oxidised). That is why CO2 is considered a 'long-lived' greenhouse gas.
CO2 can be reduced (that's what plants do all the time in the dark-reaction part of photosynthesis, involving the enzyme rubisco), also chemically, but that usually involves some external energy source.
Most of the CO2 formed should be release in the atmosphere. Christoph Voelker summarized perfectly about the subject above. See also:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jctb.503300121/abstract
No as mentioned above. But the CO released can be considered neutral in the balance since it is of biogenic origin.
Look up the work of Christiansen and Kjedsen on the Evolution of Landfill Gas and that explains the various stages in CO2 production. As stated above most CO2 will be released into the atmosphere at some point.
In my answer for some reason the "2" in CO2 is lacking. Obviously is CO2 that has not to be considered due to its biogenic origin
Your contributions have been helpful. One other thing I want to clarify is: Is it right to say that the total quantity of CO2 generated is a combination of the oxidized methane and the actual CO2 that is generated at the landfill?
I would say that the total amount of CO2 emitted is the sum of the CO2 generated by anaerobic processes in the landfill (waste biodegradation) and not intercepted by biogas extraction system (if you have in fact one) and of the CO2 gnerated by methane oxidation
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