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Axisymmetric gas flow model for bioreactor landfills incorporating MSW compression and leachate recirculation

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Abstract

To control the landfill gas (LFG) emission, LFG collection systems with vertical wells are extensively used in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. When investigating the LFG flow behavior, the solid–liquid–gas interactions cannot be neglected, especially in bioreactor landfills. In this study, an axisymmetric numerical model incorporating MSW compression and leachate recirculation was developed to describe the transient gas flow in bioreactor landfills. In the model, the porosity distribution was evaluated through circular computations, and the temporal and spatial changes in moisture were determined using the unsaturated–saturated seepage flow model. Based on these calculations, the governing equations of gas migration were solved using the finite element method. The influences of MSW properties, recirculation rate and well vacuum pressure were then investigated. The results show that the MSW compression and leachate recirculation have a significant impact on the distributions of gas generation, permeability and pressure. As the recirculation rate increases from 1 to 9 mm day−1, the gas permeability can decrease about 1 order of magnitude and thus the radius of influence decreases from 39 to 31 m. It is important to keep a balance between the acceleration of landfill stability and the recovery efficiency of LFG. These results provide helpful guidelines for the design of leachate recirculation and LFG control systems.

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Abbreviations

f g,t :

Gas generation rate (M L−3 T−1)

f water :

Water content factor

m s0 :

Initial mass of solid matter (M)

V s, V v :

Volumes of solid phase and void space at time t, respectively (L3)

V s0, V v0 :

Initial volumes of solid phase and void space, respectively (L3)

A i :

Proportion of biodegradable component i

c i :

Decomposition rate constant of biodegradable component i (T−1)

n, ε :

Porosity and compression strain, respectively

w 0 :

Initial gravimetric moisture content

n 0 :

Initial total porosity of MSW

ρ d0 :

Initial dry density of MSW (M L−3)

ρ d :

Dry density of MSW (M L−3)

ρ s, ρ l, ρ g :

Solid, liquid and gas density, respectively (M L−3)

γ 0 :

Initial unit weight of MSW (M L−2 T−2)

σ cover :

Self-weight stress of final cover (M L−1 T−2)

σ′, σ c :

Effective and preconsolidation stress, respectively (M L−1 T−2)

g :

Gravitational acceleration (L T−2)

μ s, C(h):

Storativity and water capacity (L−1)

m v :

Coefficient of MSW volume change (M−1 L T2)

β :

Water compression coefficient (M−1 L T2)

μ g, μ l :

Dynamic viscosity for gas and liquid, respectively (M L−1 T−1)

k i, K c :

Intrinsic permeability of MSW and landfill cover, respectively (L2)

k rg, k rl :

Relative permeability for gas and liquid, respectively

k :

Anisotropic coefficient

t′, t :

Time elapsed since waste deposition and landfill closure, respectively (T)

t f :

Total time required to fill the landfill (T)

v gz , v gr :

Vertical and radial velocities of the gas phase, respectively (L T−1)

P g :

Absolute gas pressure (M L−1 T−2)

P atm :

Atmospheric pressure (M L−1 T−2)

P w, p w :

Absolute and relative pressure at well boundary, respectively (M L−1 T−2)

R g :

Gas constant (L2 T−2 K−1)

T :

Absolute temperature (K)

S g, S l :

Gas and liquid saturation, respectively

S min :

Minimum liquid saturation needed for biodegradation

S e :

Effective liquid saturation

S l0, S lr, S lm :

Initial, residual and maximum liquid saturation, respectively

H, H c :

Thickness of landfill and cover, respectively (L)

H 0, ∆H :

Initial thickness and settlement of a waste layer (L)

z, r :

Height and radius, respectively (L)

r w, R :

Well radius and half well distance, respectively (L)

r ae :

Radial coordinate where gas vertical flux at the top is equal to zero (L)

h :

Head pressure (L)

Q b :

Influx of gas from the landfill base (M L−2 T−1)

f gz :

Vertical gas flux (M L−2 T−1)

Q prod, Q out :

Amount of total generated gas and gas emission, respectively (M T−1)

Q l :

Leachate recirculation rate (L T−1)

m, n v , α :

Coefficients in the van-Genuchten relationship

C r :

Experimentally measured settlement coefficient

ω, ξ :

Coefficients (ω = 1, ξ = 0 for h ≥ 0; ω = 0, ξ = 1 for h < 0)

C 1 :

Constant for an empirical formula (L2)

C 2 :

Constant for an empirical formula

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Acknowledgments

Much of the work described in this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 41172245 and 41222021, the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) under Grant No. 2012CB719803 and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University under Grant No. NCET-13-0421. 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. Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University, Si Ping Road 1239, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Shi-Jin Feng & Qi-Teng Zheng

  2. Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Hai-Jian Xie

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  1. Shi-Jin Feng
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Correspondence to Shi-Jin Feng.

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Feng, SJ., Zheng, QT. & Xie, HJ. Axisymmetric gas flow model for bioreactor landfills incorporating MSW compression and leachate recirculation. Environ Earth Sci 75, 23 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4827-3

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