Potential Lateral Migration of Leachate in Flushing Bioreactor Landfills during Aggressive Leachate Recirculation
Publication: Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 13, Issue 3
Abstract
Although there are advantages of bioreactor landfills over traditional sanitary landfills, the operation of bioreactor landfills is not without problems. A number of operational problems may arise when leachate is either diverted laterally or perched above low permeability layers within a landfill cell. This paper presents results from laboratory studies undertaken to determine the effects of the presence of daily/intermediate covers constructed of low permeable soils on leachate migration within a flushing bioreactor landfill. The quantities of leachate diverted laterally under a variety of soil-waste interface conditions were determined using a laboratory-scale flume of dimensions width, length, and depth. Two types of cover materials, silty loam and sand, were tested in combination with simulated municipal solid waste materials of two different compaction densities of 350 and , and three different slopes of 0, 2, and 5%. When silt loam was used, less than 1% of leachate produced seeped through the cover layer, while when sand was used, 100% of the leachate generated seeped through the cover with no lateral migration. The ratio of hydraulic conductivities of the compacted waste and the cover soil determines the amount of lateral leachate flow observed.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this research was received from the NSERCNSERC and the University of Calgary. The writers wish to acknowledge the support received from landfill operators at the City of Calgary’s East Calgary landfill and the Loma Los Colorados landfill in Santiago, Chile.
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Published In
Practice Periodical of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Management
Volume 13 • Issue 3 • July 2009
Pages: 174 - 178
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 30, 2008
Accepted: Nov 28, 2008
Published online: Jun 15, 2009
Published in print: Jul 2009
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