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CFD modeling of hydro-biochemical behavior of MSW subjected to leachate recirculation

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Abstract

The most commonly used method of operating landfills more sustainably is to promote rapid biodegradation and stabilization of municipal solid waste (MSW) by leachate recirculation. The present study is an application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to the 3D modeling of leachate recirculation in bioreactor landfills using vertical wells. The objective is to model and investigate the hydrodynamic and biochemical behavior of MSW subject to leachate recirculation. The results indicate that the maximum recirculated leachate volume can be reached when vertical wells are set at the upper middle part of a landfill (H W/H T = 0.4), and increasing the screen length can be more helpful in enlarging the influence radius than increasing the well length (an increase in H S/H W from 0.4 to 0.6 results in an increase in influence radius from 6.5 to 7.7 m). The time to reach steady state of leachate recirculation decreases with the increase in pressure head; however, the time for leachate to drain away increases with the increase in pressure head. It also showed that methanogenic biomass inoculum of 1.0 kg/m3 can accelerate the volatile fatty acid depletion and increase the peak depletion rate to 2.7 × 10−6 kg/m3/s. The degradation-induced void change parameter exerts an influence on the processes of MSW biodegradation because a smaller parameter value results in a greater increase in void space.

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Nomenclature

\( \overrightarrow{J_i} \) diffusion flux of species i

\( \overline{v_q} \) velocity of q phase

a anisotropy of MSW

c VFA concentration

f w factor of water content

g acceleration of gravity

h q specific enthalpy of q phase

H S screen length

H T landfill height

H W well length

k 0 maximum specific growth rate

k 2 decay rate (s−1)

k i intrinsic permeability

k MC half saturation constant

k w hydraulic conductivity

L T landfill width

m MB concentration

m vg VGM parameters related to the pore size distribution

n structural transformation parameter

n 0 initial porosity

n vg VGM parameters related to the pore size distribution

p static pressure

p c capillary pressure

Q pq heat exchange between leachate and gas phases

q q heat flux

r d MB decay rate

r h rate of hydrolysis reaction

r hmax maximum rate of hydrolysis

r I influence radius

R i rate of production of species i

r m growth rate of MB

r v depletion rate of VFA

S remaining degradable fraction

S 0 initial degradable fraction

S e effective degree of saturation

S q source or sink term of q phase

V q volume of phase q

VS solid volume of waste

V V void volume

Y yield coefficient

α H saturation where the maximum rate of hydrolysis occurs

α L minimum saturation required for the hydrolysis reaction

α l volume fraction of leachate

α lr residual volume fraction of leachate

α ls maximum volume fraction of leachate

α q phasic volume fraction of phase q

α vg VGM parameter related to the gas entry pressure

ε porosity of MSW

Λ biodegradation-induced void change parameter

μq dynamic viscosity of q phase

ρ d density of MSW

ρ l density of leachate phase

ρ q density of q phase

τ shear stress

φ factor of digestibility

Funding

Much of the work described in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 41661130153 and 41572265; the National Program for Support of Top-notch Young Professionals, the Shuguang Scheme under Grant No. 16SG19; and the Newton Advanced Fellowship of the Royal Society under Grant No. NA150466. The writers would like to greatly acknowledge all these financial supports and express the most sincere gratitude.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Geotechnical and Underground Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

    Shi-Jin Feng, Ben-Yi Cao, An-Zheng Li, Hong-Xin Chen & Qi-Teng Zheng

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  1. Shi-Jin Feng
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  2. Ben-Yi Cao
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  3. An-Zheng Li
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  4. Hong-Xin Chen
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  5. Qi-Teng Zheng
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Correspondence to Shi-Jin Feng.

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Responsible editor: Yi-ping Chen

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Feng, SJ., Cao, BY., Li, AZ. et al. CFD modeling of hydro-biochemical behavior of MSW subjected to leachate recirculation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 5631–5642 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0888-z

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