Technical Papers
Jan 2, 2020

Analytical Model for Multicomponent Landfill Gas Migration through Four-Layer Landfill Biocover with Capillary Barrier

Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20, Issue 3

Abstract

An analytical model was developed to simulate migration of methane (CH4), oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrogen (N2) through a four-layer landfill biocover, which can account for the four-layer structure and the diffusion-advection-CH4 oxidation processes. The model was effectively validated against experimental data first. The influences of several important factors including pressure difference, degree of saturation, CH4 oxidation, and layer thickness were then investigated. The water accumulating at the capillary layer benefits mitigating CH4 emission. But increasing the degree of saturation of the top layer enhances CH4 emission. The CH4 emission rate is controlled by both diffusion and advection in the top layer but mainly controlled by advection in the capillary layer. The CH4 emission rate reaches its minimum when the top layer thickness is close to that of the aerobic zone. Increasing the capillary-layer thickness can reduce CH4 emission more effectively than increasing the total biocover thickness. A capillary layer with a thickness of 0.55 m can control the CH4 emission rate below 0.45  mol/m2/day under a pressure difference of 500 Pa.

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Data Availability Statement

Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request, including the MATLAB code.

Acknowledgments

Much of the work described in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 41725012, 41572265, and 41602288, the Shanghai Shuguang Program under Grant No. 16SG19, the Newton Advanced Fellowship of the Royal Society under Grant No. NA150466, and the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan under Grant No. 18DZ1204402. The authors would like to greatly acknowledge all these financial supports and express their most sincere gratitude.

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Go to International Journal of Geomechanics
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 20Issue 3March 2020

History

Received: Mar 13, 2019
Accepted: Aug 13, 2019
Published online: Jan 2, 2020
Published in print: Mar 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jun 2, 2020

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Shi-Jin Feng, Ph.D. [email protected]
Professor, Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Dept. of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji Univ., Shanghai 200092, China. Email: [email protected]
Zhang-Wen Zhu [email protected]
Ph.D. Candidate, Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Dept. of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji Univ., Shanghai 200092, China. Email: [email protected]
Zhang-Long Chen [email protected]
Ph.D. Candidate, Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Dept. of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji Univ., Shanghai 200092, China. Email: [email protected]
Assistant Professor, Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Dept. of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji Univ., Shanghai 200092, China (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8835-7738. Email: [email protected]

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