Assessment of Municipal Solid-Waste Landfill Liner Performance
Citation:
Jain, P., K. Winslow, T. Townsend, M. Krause, AND T. Tolaymat. Assessment of Municipal Solid-Waste Landfill Liner Performance. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 149(9):04023055, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1061/JOEEDU.EEENG-7218
Impact/Purpose:
The leachate collection system (LCS) and leak detection system (LDS) flow rate data from 204 cells (or a combination of cells) at 54 municipal solid waste landfills (located in seven US states) with double-liner systems were analyzed to assess the performance of the primary liner system. The average LCS leachate collection rates for the study sites ranged from 896 to 8,000 m3 ha-1 day-1 (96.2 to 855 gal ac-1 day-1), while the average LDS leachate collection rates ranged from 6 to 228 L ha-1 day-1 (0.641 to 24.4 gal ac-1 day-1). Assuming all leachate is collected either by the LCS or LDS, the data suggest that the primary liner systems' aggregated efficiency is over 99%. The efficiency of a composite liner (geomembrane underlain by a geosynthetic clay layer or a compacted clay liner) system was not statistically different from that of the sites with only geomembrane as the primary liner (99% versus 98%). Leakage rates were compared to those estimated from the equations used by the HELP model. The comparison suggests that the equation used by the HELP model to estimate leakage from the liner overestimates the leakage rate from geomembrane primary liners while underestimating leakage from composite primary liners based on the HEL-model-default defect size and suggested defect frequency.
Description:
The leachate collection system (LCS) and leak detection system (LDS) flow rate data from 204 cells (or a combination of cells) at 54 municipal solid waste landfills (located in seven US states) with double-liner systems were analyzed to assess the performance of the primary liner system. The average LCS leachate collection rates for the study sites ranged from 896 to 8,000 m3 ha-1 day-1 (96.2 to 855 gal ac-1 day-1), while the average LDS leachate collection rates ranged from 6 to 228 L ha-1 day-1 (0.641 to 24.4 gal ac-1 day-1). Assuming all leachate is collected either by the LCS or LDS, the data suggest that the primary liner systems' aggregated efficiency is over 99%. The efficiency of a composite liner (geomembrane underlain by a geosynthetic clay layer or a compacted clay liner) system was not statistically different from that of the sites with only geomembrane as the primary liner (99% versus 98%). Leakage rates were compared to those estimated from the equations used by the HELP model. The comparison suggests that the equation used by the HELP model to estimate leakage from the liner overestimates the leakage rate from geomembrane primary liners while underestimating leakage from composite primary liners based on the HEL-model-default defect size and suggested defect frequency.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Assessment of Municipal Solid-Waste Landfill Liner Performance
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