LANDFILL DESIGN

CONSIDERATIONS
 LOCATION OF LANDFILL SITE
Site selection criteria :Landfill should not be constructed unless following conditions
satisfied
• Lake/pond >200 m
• River >100 m
• Highway > 500 m
• Habitation > 500 m
• Public Park > 500 m
• Critical habitatNo
• Wetland No
• Coastal regulation zone No
• Airport > 3000 m to 20km
• Water supply well > 500 m
• Ground water table level 2 m below base of land fill
 SITE SELECTION
Site for development of landfill to be located preferably in areas having
• low population density
• low alternate land use value
• low GW contamination potential
• having clay content in the sub-soil
 SITE INVESTIGATION CRITERIA
o Sub Soil Investigation: type of soil, depth of GWT and bedrock, permeability
of various strata, strength parameters, extent of availability of liner materials
o Ground Water / Hydro geological Investigation: Depth of GWT, GW flow
direction, Baseline GW quality parameters
o Topographical Investigation: To compute the earth work quantities precisely
o Hydrological Investigation: To estimate the quantities of runoff for
appropriate design of drainage facilities
o Geological Investigation and Seismic Investigation: to delineate the bedrock
profile beneath the landfill base
 LANDFILL LAYOUT AND SECTION
• Generally governed by the shape of the area availablefor land filling
• About 80% of the total area used for placement of waste
• Balance 20% of area used for making built-up-area-office, laboratory,
workshop, equipment shelters, weighing scale, treatment facilities
for leachate, gas andpond for storm water detention
• Fencing, roads, storm water drains, temporary holding areas for waste
and construction materials and environmental monitoring facilities
 TYPES OF LANDFILLS
The various types of landfills that can be constructed are listed below:
• Below ground landfills
• Above ground landfills
• Slope landfills
• Valley landfills
COMPONENTS OF AN ENGINEERED
LANDFILL
• Liner system
• Leachate collection and treatment facility
• Gas collection and treatment facility
• Final cover system
• Surface water drainage system
• An environmental monitoring system
• A closure and post closure plan
Operating requirements for a solid waste landfill:

• Detection and exclusion of hazardous waste from the facility

• Use of appropriate cover material for the landfill
• Disease vector control
• Control of gas production (especially those which can combust readily)
• Monitoring of air and groundwater quality
• Access to facility
• Run-on and run-off control systems
• Restricting liquids entering the landfill
• Record keeping requirements
 LINER SYSTEMS
Single Liner

Composite liner
Double Liner
GENERATION OF LANDFILL GASES
• Phase I
• Aerobic phase
• Biodegradable components undergo microbial decomposition immediately
• Initially, O2 is present
• Organic matter present in waste and the soil material used as daily cover are
degraded by aerobic bacteria
• Volume of oxygen available drops to less than 15%
• anaerobic organisms are cultivated.
• Phase II
• Phase I and Phase II together take up to a few weeks.
• Phase II is anaerobic.
• Organic matter acts as the electron donor, while nitrate and sulphate
ions act as electron acceptors.
• pH of landfill cells drops down - formation of organic acids and
elevated levels of SO2 within voids.
• Phase III
• This is the second anaerobic phase (acid phase).
• Anaerobic microbial activity is much higher, resulting in higher amount of organic
acids and production of some hydrogen gas
• pH of landfill liquids drops to around 5 due to presence of organic acids , increased
amount of CO2 within voids.
• no production of methane gas as methanogenic bacteria cannot tolerate acidic
conditions
• low pH values - metals, inorganic constituents solubilized.
• BOD5, COD, and conductivity of leachate show sudden increase due to dissolution
of organic acids in leachate.
• Phase IV
• This is the methane fermentation phase.
𝑂𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑠 + 𝐻2 → 𝐶𝐻4 + 𝐶𝑂2
• CH4 and organic acids formation proceed simultaneously
• pH increases and stabilizes around 6.8-8
• BOD5, COD and leachate conductivity reduce
• Metals which were soluble previously begin to precipitate.
• Phase V (maturation phase)
• TRate of gas generation decreases as most of the available nutrients
have been removed with the leachate, and substrates that remain are
highly stable.
• Principal gases evolved are methane and carbon dioxide.
• Occurrence of these phases depend on:
• distribution of organic components in landfill cell
• availability of nutrients
• moisture content of waste - Higher moisture → lower production of gases
• degree of initial compaction
• In theory, biological decomposition of MSW produces 442 m3 of
landfill gas containing 55% CH4 and a heat value of 19730 kJ/m3.
• Actual average yield of CH4 is closer to 100 m3/MT of waste.
• LEL and UEL continuously monitored
• range for explosive gases in air on a volume basis should be contained
within 5-15%.
LEACHATE GENERATION AND
CONTROL
• Leachate collection system
• Integrated into all liner systems
• composed of sand and gravel, or a geo-net- A geo-net is a plastic net
like drainage blanket
• In this layer is a series of leachate collection pipes to drain the leachate
from the landfill – to holding tanks for storage and eventual treatment.
• In double-liner systems, the upper drainage layer is the leachate
collection system, and the lower drainage layer is the leak detection
system.
• The leak detection layer contains a second set of drainage pipes.
• The presence of leachate → primary liner has a leak.
• LCR system also contains a sump (which is the lowest point in the
composite liner system)
• The rate of percolation of leachate through the liner is controlled by
• hydraulic activity of the liner
• head of the leachate on top of the liner
• total area of the liner.
(Darcy’s Law): 𝑄 = 𝐾𝐴 𝑑𝐻/𝑑𝐿
• Where Q → volume of flow per unit time through a column of cross-sectional
area A;
• the flow occurs under a pressure gradient dH/dL
• change in water level happens over a length L
• K → saturated hydraulic conductivity → depends on grain size for saturated
soils and on grain size as well as water content of pores for unsaturated soils.
• Fick’s First Law describes the leakage through a synthetic liner:

𝐽=−𝐷[𝑑𝐶/𝑑𝑥]

• Where J is the flux (mol/cm2s)

• D the diffusion coefficient (cm2/s)
• C the concentration (mol/cm3)
• x the length in the direction of movement (cm).
• Bernoulli’s Equation can be used to estimate the flow rates through
pores in geo-membranes, assuming that shape and size of pores are
known.
𝑄=𝐶𝑏𝑎[2𝑔ℎ]0.5

• Where Q is the flow rate through a geo-membrane (cm3/s)

• Cb the flow coefficient with a value of about 0.6 for a circular hole
• a the area of circular hole (cm2)
• g the acceleration due to gravity (cm/s2
• h the liquid head acting on the liner (cm).
CLOSURE AND POST-CLOSURE CARE
• The closure standards require that final cover be installed to minimize
infiltration of liquids and soil erosion.
• Permeability of the final cover must be less than that of the
underlying liner system.
• Final cover must consist of an infiltration layer of at least 18 inches of
earthen material covered by an erosion layer of at least 6 inches of
earthen material that is capable of sustaining plant growth.
• Post-closure care deals with monitoring the effectiveness of the:
• Final cover system
• Leachate collection system
• Groundwater monitoring system
• Methane gas monitoring system
BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS
• Problems identified in traditional municipal solid waste landfill
• build-up of methane gas inside the landfill leading to risk of explosion,
• leachate draining into groundwater resulting in damage to humans and the
environment.
• A bioreactor landfill accelerates decomposition of waste through addition of
liquid and air, enhancing microbial processes.
• Optimal conditions:
• the temperature maintained between 60 and 72oC,
• 60-80% moisture, and a
• high pH to alkalinity ratio (>0.25).
• Once a methane content of >40% is observed (on a volume basis), it
indicates that methanogens are well established in the landfill cell.
• reduces the time for biological stabilization
• cyclic air injection system can reduce a mass of contaminants in a
shorter time
• Bioreactors often need other liquids such as storm water, wastewater,
and wastewater treatment plant sludges to supplement leachate. This
enhances the microbiological process by purposeful control of the
moisture content, and differs from a landfill that simply recirculates
leachate for liquids management. Landfills that simply recirculate
leachate may not necessarily operate as optimized bioreactors.
• The bioreactor technology relies on maintaining optimal moisture
content near field capacity - approximately 35 to 65 percent - and
adds liquids when it is necessary to maintain that percentage. The
moisture content, combined with the biological action of naturally
occurring microbes, decomposes the waste. The microbes can be
either aerobic or anaerobic.
Types of bioreactor landfills
• 1. Aerobic
• Leachate drained from bottom layer and re-circulated to the landfill cell
• Air circulated into waste
• Microbial activity improved
• 2. Anaerobic
• Moisture added to waste mass (in the form of re-circulated leachate or other sources)
• Biodegradation of organic fraction of waste to methane occurs in absence of oxygen
• 3. Hybrid
• Sequential aerobic-anaerobic process
• Organic content degraded in upper sections of landfill
• Methane gas collected from lower sections of landfill
AEROBIC DECOMPOSITION
• Decomposition and biological stabilization in years versus decades in “dry
tombs”
• Lower waste toxicity and mobility due to both aerobic and anaerobic
conditions
• Reduced leachate disposal costs
• A 15 to 30 percent gain in landfill space due to an increase in density of
waste mass
• Significant increased LFG generation that, when captured, can be used for
energy use onsite or sold
• Reduced post-closure care
CONVENTIONAL LANDFILL vs
BIOREACTOR CELL
CONVENTIONAL “DRY TOMB” LANDFILL BIOREACTOR CELL

• Place waste and add moisture to augment

• Compact waste and cover to reduce moisture decomposition
infiltration

•  Very slow decomposition over decades • Waste decomposes and settles more completely
creating additional landfill volume

• Landfill waste takes longer to stabilize • Rapid stabilization of waste, within 5-10 years of
placement, into an inert mass

• Methane gas is generated over a longer period • Accelerated gas production over shorter period
of time provides greater volumes for green energy
DISADVANTAGES
• Need to manage increased volumes of landfill gas
• methane handling and migration issues
• odour issues
• Increased operation and maintenance requirements
• complex construction and operation
• additional monitoring requirements
• higher capital costs
• non-uniform settlement and stability issues
• Increased stress on leachate management system
• Additional need for moisture
• Higher risk of fire (aerobic)
• Higher temperatures may damage liner systems