Operation and Performance of Horizontal Wells for Leachate Control in a Waste Landfill
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 8
Abstract
This paper presents data on gas and leachate flow rates and leachate levels obtained during a pumping trial on three retrofitted horizontal wells in a domestic waste landfill at Rainham, United Kingdom. The changes in gas and leachate flow rate with time and atmospheric pressure, and the interaction between the two flows, are discussed. The spatial variability of the response of the leachate levels within the landfill is explored with reference to the anisotropy and heterogeneity of the permeability of the waste. It is shown that horizontal wells can be an effective means of controlling leachate heads near the base of a landfill, and that leachate levels must be measured using piezometers with a discrete response zone rather than fully screened observation wells if meaningful results are to be obtained. It is argued that the large amounts of gas pumped from the nominally saturated zone of the landfill must have come from the ongoing degradation of the waste within the zone of influence of the well.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by Cleanaway Ltd. through the U.K. Landfill Tax Credit System. The writers are grateful to Mike Dyer and Darren Cole of Cleanaway Ltd. for their practical advice and continued encouragement and support.
References
Al-Thani, A. A., Beaven, R. P., and White, J. K. (2004). “Modelling flow to leachate wells in landfills.” Waste Manage., 24(3), 271–276.
Beaven, R. P., White, J. K., and Lucas, P. (2005). “Modelling the performance of a horizontal leachate drain.” Proc., Sardinia 2005, 10th Int. Waste Management and Landfill Symp., Cossu, R. and Stegmann, R., eds., S. Margherita di Pula,Cagliari, Italy, Abstracts, 169, 170 (Full paper only available electronically).
Burrows, M. R., Joseph, J. B., and Mather, J. D. (1997). “The hydraulic properties of in-situ landfilled waste.” Proc., Sardinia 1997, 6th Int. Landfill Symp., S. Margherita di Pula, ed., Vol. 3, Cagliari, Italy, 73–83.
Caine, M., and Bristow, I. (2000). “Landfill gas monitoring—The Brogborough test cells.” AEA Technology—Environment Rep.
Cox, S. E. (2002). “The use of horizontal wells for leachate and gas control in landfills.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Southampton, Southampton, U.K.
Cox, S. E., Beaven, R. P., Powrie, W., and Cole, D. (2006). “Installation of horizontal wells in landfilled waste using directional drilling.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 132(7), 869–878.
Crawford, J. F., and Smith, P. G. (1984). Landfill technology, Butterworth-Heinemann, London.
Farquhar, G. J., and Rovers, F. A. (1973). “Gas production during refuse decomposition.” Water, Air, Soil Pollut., 2(4), 483–495.
Hudson, A. P., Beaven, R. P., and Powrie, W. (1999). “Measurement of the horizontal hydraulic conductivity of household waste in a large scale compression cell.” Proc., Sardinia 1999, 7th Int. Waste Management and Landfill Symp., S. Margherita di Pula, ed., Cagliari, Italy, 3, 461–468.
Oddie, G., Shi, H., Durlofsky, L. J., Aziz, K., Pfeffer, B., and Holmes, J. A. (2003). “Experimental study of two and three phase flows in large diameter inclined pipes.” Int. J. Multiphase Flow, 29(4), 527–558.
Petalas, N., and Aziz, K. (2000). “A mechanistic model for multiphase flow in pipes.” J. Can. Pet. Technol., 39(6), 43–55.
Powrie, W., and Beaven, R. P. (1999). “Hydraulic properties of household waste and implications for landfills.” Proc. Instn. of Civ. Engrs, Geotech. Engng., 137(4), 235–247.
White, J. K., Robinson, J. P., and Ren, Q. (2003). “A framework to contain a spatially distributed model of the degradation of solid waste in landfills.” Waste Manage. Res., 21(4), 330–345.
White, J. K., Robinson, J. P., and Ren, Q. (2004). “Modelling the biochemical degradation of solid waste in landfills.” Waste Manage., 24(3), 227–240.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 8 • August 2007
Pages: 1040 - 1047
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 27, 2006
Accepted: Nov 1, 2006
Published online: Aug 1, 2007
Published in print: Aug 2007
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.