Morton Barlaz Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Barlaz’s research interests are in the area of solid waste engineering with a specific emphasis on (1) biological and chemical processes in landfills and (2) the use life-cycle analysis to evaluate the economic and environmental performance of integrated solid waste management systems.

Biological, chemical and physical processes all affect the decomposition of municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills as well as the behavior of trace waste components such as organics and metals. I am interested in all aspects of solid waste behavior in landfills and conduct research that ranges from fundamental studies of the microbial ecology of landfills to more applied studies on the effect of various industrial wastes on refuse decomposition and gas generation. Current research is focused on factors that contribute to the generation and accumulation of heat in landfills and the microbial ecology of anaerobic digestors during food waste decomposition.

Area(s) of Expertise

Chemical and biological processes as they apply to decomposition in landfills,
the application of life-cycle analysis to solid waste management

Publications

• AI-powered municipal solid waste management: a comprehensive review from generation to utilization , Frontiers in Energy Research (2025)
• Evaluation of Fluorochemical Leaching from Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Simulated Solid Waste Landfill Conditions , Environmental Science & Technology (2025)
• Nationwide Estimate of Volatile Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Emissions from U.S. Landfills via Landfill Gas , Environmental Science & Technology (2025)
• Release of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Municipal and Construction and Demolition Waste Landfills and Wastewater Treatment Plants in North Carolina , ACS ES&T Water (2025)
• Techno-economics of hydrocarbon fuel production and recyclables recovery from landfill-destined municipal solid waste: AI-enhanced materials recovery facility design , Journal of Cleaner Production (2025)
• Economic and environmental comparison of emerging plastic waste management technologies , Resources Conservation and Recycling (2024)
• Linking microbial population dynamics in anaerobic bioreactors to food waste type and decomposition stage , Waste Management (2024)
• Measurement and Temperature Prediction from Ash Disposed in Landfills Using a Quasi-Adiabatic Flow Reactor , ACS ES&T Engineering (2024)
• Release of Volatile Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Plant Fiber-Based Food Packaging and Municipal Solid Waste to Gas under Simulated Landfill Conditions , Environmental Science & Technology (2024)
• The greenhouse gas performance of selected biodegradable and recalcitrant plastics in U.S. landfills , Environmental Research Letters (2024)

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