Enhanced Waste Decomposition in Bioreactor Landfill with Septage Additions

A bioreactor landfill demonstration pilot project has been proposed at a county-owned landfill in the County of St. Clair, Michigan. Two identical bioreactor cells will be constructed and independently monitored for two different liquid injections (landfill leachate vs. septage) to evaluate the effectiveness of bioreactor approach and analyze the specific impact of septage addition on the waste decomposition processes. Instrumentation will be implemented for data collection and evaluation of bioreactor performances. Results from this demonstration project will advance our understanding regarding the impact of septage addition in the decomposition of municipal solid waste (MSW), and in particular, in bioreactor landfills. Quantified benefits (accelerated waste decomposition, airspace recovery, increased LFG generation rate, improved leachate quality, etc.) as well as adequate operational guidelines established from the projects experience can be applied to future bioreactor landfill projects.