Modeling of Leachate Recirculation Using Spraying–Vertical Well Systems in Bioreactor Landfills
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17, Issue 7
Abstract
Leachate recirculation in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills operated as bioreactors offers significant economic and environmental benefits. However, vertical well (VW) recirculation may not be an effective method because gravity will cause the recirculated leachate to flow directly downward to the leachate collection systems at the bottom of the landfill, resulting in a waste of recirculated leachate. One of the solutions to minimize the misapplication of leachate is to enable the leachate to flow in horizontal directions using combined spraying-VW systems, thus enabling it to flow through more MSW. The key objectives of this study were to investigate combined spraying-VW systems, to analyze the effects of applying spraying and VW recirculation systems simultaneously on the leachate migration in landfills, and to estimate some key design parameters (e.g., the steady-state flow rate, the influence radius, and the cumulative leachate volume). In addition, design charts for engineering application were established using a dimensionless variable formulation. The proposed design charts prove both simple and useful.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the reviewers for their critical review of the paper, which was very useful. Much of the work described in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 41661130153 and 41572265, the Program for New Century and Excellent Talents in University under Grant NCET-13-0421, the National Program for Support of Top-Notch Young Professionals, and the Newton Advanced Fellowship of the Royal Society. The writers greatly acknowledge this financial support and express the most sincere gratitude.
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Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 17 • Issue 7 • July 2017
Copyright
© 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 28, 2016
Accepted: Nov 16, 2016
Published online: Feb 3, 2017
Published in print: Jul 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jul 3, 2017
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