Particle Size and Clogging of Granular Media Permeated with Leachate
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 126, Issue 9
Abstract
The effect of particle size (4-, 6-, and 15-mm nominal sizes) on the rate of clogging of columns of porous media permeated with municipal solid-waste leachate is examined. Clogging is shown to be more localized over a small volume of the porous media near the influent end of the column for smaller particles than for larger particles, where clogging was more uniformly distributed along the column. This is attributed to the greater surface area per unit volume of smaller particles allowing greater biofilm growth per unit volume. This increased the reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and caused greater deposition of inorganic clog material per unit length of column than for larger particles. The distribution of methanogenic bacteria was found to closely correspond to the zones of most severe clogging. The bulk density of clog material is shown to be between 1.6 and 1.8 Mg/m3. The chemical composition of the clog material is essentially independent of particle size, with calcium representing 26% of the dry mass of the clog material and CaCO3 being the main component of the clog. An examination of the yield of CaCO3 relative to COD indicates that the carbon in the CaCO3 represents <4% of the organic carbon represented by the drop in COD. Finally, the data from the column test is used to predict the expected time to clog for an actual landfill and were found to give results consistent with what was observed in the field.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 126 • Issue 9 • September 2000
Pages: 775 - 786
History
Received: Dec 7, 1998
Published online: Sep 1, 2000
Published in print: Sep 2000
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