Bioreactor landfills allow a more active landfill management that recognizes the biological, chemical and physical processes involved in a landfill environment. The bioreactor landfill provides control and process optimization, primarily through the addition of leachate or other liquid amendments. This research presents an analysis of leachate, gas and solid parameters data collected during the Acid Formation Phase of anaerobic solid waste decomposition in simulated bioreactor landfills. The main focus of the study is the analysis of the effect of temperature on solid waste decomposition in bioreactor landfills.
In accordance with this objective, three simulated landfill bioreactors were designed and constructed at the EPA Center Hill Facility. Two of the lysimeters were operating at a normal temperature of 37°C and the third was operating at high temperature (60°C). The lysimeters were filled with synthetic municipal solid waste (MSW) material prepared at the site, typical to the landfill composition waste generated in the USA, and reported by U.S. EPA 2008.
In the first part of this study, the results of the indicator parameters are analyzed to quantify the effect of temperature on the waste degradation in bioreactor landfills. Tables and graphical representation of the data are provided for each of the three lysimeters, and compared in order to study the variation of biodegradation of MSW according to the temperature.
In the second part of the study, landfill settlement has been studied in order to predict the settlement in bioreactor landfills. Prediction of landfill settlement is one of the important parameters that affect the design and maintenance of bioreactor landfills. Settlement is known to be a function of many factors (i.e. moisture, density, type of waste etc.); therefore, large number of variables is involved in the settlement mechanism. In this work, a biodegradation settlement model incorporating two parameters (A and B) was developed. In addition, an empirical check of the settlement model was studied, using an exponential function to fit the settlement.