‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحیم‬

Solid & Hazardous Waste Management

Kandahar University
Engineering Faculty
Water and Environmental Engineering Department

Chapter 4. Landfills

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Agenda
1.Introduction
2.Planning, Siting, and Permitting of Landfills
3.Landfill Processes
1. Biological Degradation
2. Leachate Production
3. Gas Production
4.Landfill Design
1. Liners
2. Leachate Collection, Treatment, and Disposal
3. Landfill Gas Collection and Use
4. Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design
5. Stormwater Management
6. Landfill Cap
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Introduction

Regardless of how much reuse, recycling, and energy recovery is achieved,

some fraction of the MSW must be returned to the environment. This

chapter provides a discussion of how residues that have no value can be best

managed and disposed of.

A landfill is an engineered method for land disposal of solid or hazardous

wastes in a manner that protects the environment.

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Planning, Siting, And Permitting Of Landfills

A solid waste engineer, when asked to take on the job of managing

the solid waste system for a major city, had only one question: “Do

the existing landfills have enough remaining capacity to last until I

retire?

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Planning

In planning for solid waste disposal, communities must look many

years into the future.

A ten-year time frame is considered short-term planning. Thirty

years seems to be an appropriate time frame, because after thirty
years, it becomes difficult to anticipate solid waste generation and
new disposal technology.

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Continue Planning

The first step in planning for a new landfill is to establish the requirements
for the landfill site.
The site must provide sufficient landfill capacity for the selected design
period and support any ancillary solid waste functions, such as leachate
treatment, landfill gas management, and special waste services (i.e., tires,
bulky items, household hazardous wastes).

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 Continue Planning

A landfill that is too small will not have an adequate service life and will
not justify the expense of building it.
a landfill that is too large may eliminate many potential sites and will
result in high up-front capital costs.

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Continue Planning

When some materials are recovered from solid waste, the compaction
characteristics may change markedly, and it is then necessary to estimate
the compaction of the waste by individual refuse components.

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Continue Planning
Knowing the volume of each material, the mass is calculated for each
contributing material, added, and then divided by the total volume. In
equation form,
Continue Planning

If the two materials at different densities are expressed in terms of

their weight fraction, then the equation for calculating the overall
bulk density is:

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Continue Planning

volume reduction or landfill compaction is an important design and

operational variable.
If the original volume of a sample of solid waste is denoted by Vo, and
the final volume, after compaction, is Vc, then the calculation of the
volume reduction is

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Continue Planning

Because the mass is constant and volume = mass/density,

volume reduction also can be calculated as

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Example 4 - 1

For illustrative purposes only, assume that refuse has the following
components and bulk densities.

Assume that the compaction in the landfill is 1200 lb/yd3 (44.4 lb/ft3).
Estimate the percent volume reduction achieved during compaction of the
waste. Estimate the overall uncompacted bulk density if the miscellaneous
paper is removed. 13
Solution: 4. 1
The overall bulk density prior to compaction is

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Siting
Once the size of the landfill has been determined, it is necessary to
find an appropriate site.

• Large enough to accommodate the SW needs of the area it serves

• Suited with the local SW management programs

• Site must protect public health, safety, welfare, & environment

• Minimize unfavourable impacts on surrounding area

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Continue Siting

• Minimize adverse impacts on property value

• Minimize impacts on traffic flow

• Minimize potential for fire, spill, accidents

• Outside the 100 year flood plain

• Far from airports (birds) - jet airports, other airports

• Provide emergency response plan including notification,

evacuation, & containment procedures

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Continue Siting

• Soil conditions and topography

• Geological conditions - unstable areas, seismic activity

• Hydrologic conditions (surface and ground water)

• Climatic conditions (rainfall and wind)

• Potential use after closure

• Distance to the sources

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Continue Siting

Sanitary MSW Landfill Area Requirements

• Leachate treatment plant
• Gas management and treatment
• Access requirements (streets, railroads, ...)
• Economics (height vs. Area of landfill)
• Co-located waste processing (recyclables processing (MRF),
special wastes, household, hazardous wastes….)

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Continue Siting

• Composting of Biowaste
• Administration of the Landfill (Buildings, ...)
• Scale house (located at the Entrance)
• Stormwater control (ponds, rainwater infiltration, ...)
• C&D debris recycling and disposal

Other Considerations:

Sloping area will facilitate leachate collection

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Permitting

On October 9, 1991, the EPA issued 40 CFR Part 258, regulations pertaining

to landfills under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery

Act.

Subtitle D addressed such issues as location, design requirements, operating

conditions, groundwater monitoring, landfill closure and post-closure, and

financial assurance.

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LANDFILL PROCESSES

Biological Degradation: Refuse is approximately 75 to 80% organic

matter composed mainly of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and lignins.
Approximately two thirds of this material is biodegradable, while one-
third is recalcitrant (Figure 4-2).

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Continue Biological Degradation

Major organic classes in solid waste decomposition pathways

NH2

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 Continue Biological Degradation

The rate and characteristics of leachate produced and gas generated from a

landfill are not only dissimilar, but also reflect the microbially mediated

processes taking place inside the landfill.

Phase I—Initial Adjustment Phase: This phase is associated with initial

placement of solid waste and accumulation of moisture within landfills.

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Continue Biological Degradation

Phase II—Transition Phase: In the transition phase, the field capacity is

often exceeded, and a transformation from an aerobic to an anaerobic
environment occurs, as evidenced by the depletion of oxygen trapped
within the landfill media.

Phase III—Acid Formation Phase: The continuous hydrolysis

(solubilization) of solid waste, followed by the microbial conversion of
biodegradable organic content, results in the production of intermediate
volatile organic acids at high concentrations throughout this phase.

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Phase IV—Methane Fermentation Phase

During Phase IV, intermediate acids are consumed by methane-forming

consortia (methanogenic bacteria) and converted into methane and carbon

dioxide. Sulfate and nitrate are reduced to sulfides and ammonia,

respectively.
Phase V—Maturation Phase: During the final state of landfill

stabilization, nutrients and available substrate become limiting, and the

biological activity shifts to relative dormancy. Gas production dramatically

drops, and leachate strength stays steady at much lower concentrations. 25

Leachate Production
Leachate Quantity: The total quantity produced can be estimated
either by using empirical data or a water balance technique that sets up a
mass balance among precipitation, evapotranspiration, surface runoff,
and soil moisture storage.
Landfills operated in the Northeast have been designed using leachate
generation rates of 1200 to1500 gallons per acre per day (gpad) (11,200
to 14,000 liters/hectare/day) during active phases, 500 gpad (4,700
L/ha/day) following temporary closure, and 100 gpad (930 L/ha/day)
following final closure.

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Continue Leachate Quantity

A water balance uses site-specific data to track water volumes, as shown

schematically in Figure 4-4. Prior to closure, which generally involves use

of an impermeable cap, the water balance can be described.

Some fraction of precipitation (dependent on runoff characteristics and soil

type and conditions) will percolate through the cover soil, and a fraction of

this water is returned to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration.

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Continue Leachate Quantity

The actual calculations of leachate production involve a one-dimensional

analysis of water movement through soil and the compacted refuse, as

shown in Figure 4-6. C = P(1 - R) - S – E

C = total percolation into the top soil layer, mm/yr

P = precipitation, mm/yr

R = runoff coefficient

S = storage within the soil or waste, mm/yr

E = evapotranspiration, mm/yr
Example 4 - 3

Estimate the percolation of water through a landfill 10 m deep, with a 1 m cover of

sandy loam soil. Assume that this landfill is in southern Ohio, and that
P = 1025 mm/yr
R = 0.15
E = 660 mm/yr
Soil field capacity, Fs = 200 mm/m
Refuse field capacity, Fr = 300 mm/m, as packed
Assume further that the soil is at field capacity when applied, and that the
incoming refuse has a moisture content of 150 mm/m and therefore has a net
absorptive
capacity of 150 mm/m. Percolation through the soil cover is
C = P(1 - R) - S - E = 1025(1 - 0.15) - 0 - 660 = 211 mm/y
Solution

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Continue Leachate Quantity

The characteristics of the leachate produced are highly variable,

depending on the composition of the solid waste, precipitation
rates, site hydrology, compaction, cover design, waste age,
sampling procedures, interaction of leachate with the environment,
and landfill design and operation.

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Gas Production

Landfill operators, energy recovery project owners, and energy users

need to be able to project the volume of gas produced and recovered
over time from a landfill.
Four parameters must be known if gas production is to be estimated
with any accuracy:
Gas yield per unit weight of waste
lag time prior to gas production,
shape of the lifetime gas production curve,
Duration of gas production
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Continue Gas Production

In theory, the biological decomposition of one ton of MSW produces 15,600

ft3 (442 m3) of landfill gas containing 55% methane (CH4) and a heat value
of 530 Btu/ft3 (19,730 kJ/m3).

Theoretical landfill gas production potential for the United States is

estimated at 1.4 trillion ft3/y (33 x1012 m3/y).

Gas production differences is depend on environmental conditions

and landfill management.

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Continue Gas Production

The methane generation usually is between 1 to 2 ft3/lb (0.06 to 0.12

m3/kg) of waste on a dry basis—over a period of 10 to 40 years.

The EPA has published a model called LandGEM based on the following
equation:

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EXAMPLE4-4

A landfill cell is open for three years, receiving 165,700 tonnes of

waste per year. Calculate the peak gas production if the landfill-gas

emission constant is 0.0307 yr-1 and the methane generation potential

is 140 m3/tonne.

QT = 2 (0.0307) (140) (165,700)(e-0.0307(1)) = 1,381,000 m 3

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LANDFILL DESIGN

The landfill design and construction must include elements that

permit control of leachate and gas. The major design components
of a landfill, include the liner, the leachate-collection and
management system, gas management facilities, stormwater
management, and the final cap.

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38
Liners
The liner system is required to prevent migration of leachate from the
landfill and to facilitate removal of leachate.

Geomembranes selected for low permeability.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) tends to be used in MSW landfill

liners.

The bottom is a clay material and the top layer is a geomembrane.

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Continue Liners

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Continue Liners
Clearly, the more layers that are included, the more protective the

liner system will be. A composite liner can cost as much as

$250,000 per acre. Because the liner is so critical to groundwater

protection, an exhaustive quality control/quality assurance

program is required during liner installation.

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Leachate Collection, Treatment, and Disposal
Leachate is typically removed by two means:

A. gravity flow

B. pumping.
Components of a leachate collection system include the following:
• Protective and drainage layers
• Perforated collection lateral and header pipes
• Pump station sump
• Leachate pumps
• Pump controls
• Pump station appurtenances
• Force main or gravity sewer line
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Leachate Collection, Treatment, and Disposal
General guidelines for leachate collection system components
based on a survey of landfill design engineers.

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Leachate Treatment and Disposal

 In wet areas, leachate treatment, use, and disposal represents one

of the major expenses of landfill operations—not only during the
active life of the landfill but also for a significant period of time
after closure.

 Final disposal of leachate may be accomplished through co-

disposal at a wastewater treatment plant or through direct
discharge.

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Continue Leachate Treatment and Disposal

Leachate treatment is often difficult because of high organic

strength, irregular production rates and composition, variation in

biodegradability, and low phosphorous content (if biological

treatment is considered).

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Landfill Gas Collection and Use
Gas generated within a landfill will move by pressure gradient,

following paths of least resistance.

There are two basic systems for gas emissions control:

a) passive collection

b) active extraction

Passive collection systems collect landfill gas using vent collectors

and release the gas to the atmosphere without treatment or
conveyance to a common point.

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Continue Landfill Gas Collection and Use

Active collection systems link collection wells with piping and

extract the gas under vacuum created by a central blower. Active

extraction wells may be vertical or horizontal wells, although

vertical wells are more frequently employed.

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Continue Landfill Gas Collection and Use

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Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design

 Landfill stability is an important aspect of design, particularly in

light of the complex, multilayer construction of modern landfills.

 Landfill stability is normally analyzed using readily available

computer software. This analysis requires:

a) properties of waste

b) materials used in the liners and caps

c) foundation soils
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Continue Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design

These include such well known geotechnical properties as unit

weight, shear strength, shear moduli, internal friction angle, cohesion,

and internal pore pressure, plus geosynthetic material properties such

as tensile strength, surface roughness, flexibility, and surface

wetness.

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 Stormwater Management
Many operating and design controls are available to minimize leachate
production, including control of the size of the working face,
placement of interim cover on the waste, and use of proper stormwater
runoff and run-on controls.

Run-on can be prevented by diverting stormwater from active areas of

the landfill.

Typical measures to control run-on include contouring the land

surrounding the landfill cell or constructing ditches, dikes, or culverts
to divert flow.
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Landfill Cap
The cap may consist (from top to bottom) of vegetation and

supporting soil, a filler and drainage layer, a hydraulic barrier,

foundation for the hydraulic barrier, and a gas-control layer.

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Continue Landfill Cap

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Continue Landfill Cap

 Evapotranspiration cover, also known as the capillary barrier.

 This cover places a thin (6 in.) layer of silt over a 2.5-ft-thick

layer of uncompacted soil.

 The silt layer supports vegetation for transpiration, while the soil

layer provides moisture storage.

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Continue Landfill Cap
As landfills settle, caps can fail and allow stormwater to penetrate
into landfills.

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Thanks from your attention
&
Question

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