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USE OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS AS BIOCHEMICAL REACTORS
Citation:
Landreth, R. USE OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS AS BIOCHEMICAL REACTORS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-94/248 (NTIS PB95155099).
Description:
Municipal solid waste (MSW) from the nation is managed predominantly in anitary landfills. ue to the physical, chemical and biological makeup f he aste he landfill acts as a biochemical reactor and degrades the organic matter. urrent practices are to use covers and liners as engineering controls to "mummify" the landfill after closure. hese controls keep the moisture out of the landfill mass and stops the biochemical processes. t this time we do not know what the long term performance of these controls will be. f the controls fail and moisture reenters the landfill the decomposition process will start again and leachate and gas will be generated. esearch is being conducted to determine if the landfill biochemical process can be maximized to accelerate the decomposition process so that the landfill will be stabilized a short time after closure and the long term risks minimized. his paper will discuss EPA's research program to identify the benefits and limitations of using the landfill as a bioreactor. esults on a completed lysimeter study to evaluate the fate of organic pollutants when mixed with MSW will be presented. oth leachate and gas analysis indicates no release of the pollutants. he study also verified that the landfill could be controlled (held at each of the decomposition phases). he technology is being further studied in two one-acre state-of-the-art landfills constructed adjacent to an existing sanitary landfill. he study will evaluate scale-up affects as well as leachate and gas comparisons between the control cell and the cell with recirculation. nitial results on this project will be presented. ince approximately 20% of the sites on the NPL are MSW landfills, an assessment is being performed to evaluate the potential for using the landfill as a bioreactor concept on these sites. he results of site selection and a 50% design will be discussed. he future of the technology will depend on the successful demonstration of the concept at a full size landfill. PA working with a consortium of others is currently in the initial site selection and design phase of this program. e anticipate selecting a 20 acre site in a relatively warm climate.