Effects of Degradation on Geotechnical Properties of Municipal Solid Waste from Orchard Hills Landfill, USA

Reddy, Krishna R., Hettiarachchi, Hiroshan, Giri, Rajiv K. and Gangathulasi, Janardhanan, (2015). Effects of Degradation on Geotechnical Properties of Municipal Solid Waste from Orchard Hills Landfill, USA. International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering, 1(3), 1-14

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Reddy, Krishna R.
    Hettiarachchi, Hiroshan
    Giri, Rajiv K.
    Gangathulasi, Janardhanan
    Title Effects of Degradation on Geotechnical Properties of Municipal Solid Waste from Orchard Hills Landfill, USA
    Appearing in International Journal of Geosynthetics and Ground Engineering
    Volume 1
    Issue No. 3
    Publication Date 2015-07-07
    Place of Publication Switzerland
    Publisher Springer International Publishing AG
    Start page 1
    End page 14
    Language eng
    Abstract In bioreactor landfills, geotechnical properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) are believed to be affected by increased moisture content and accelerated biodegradation due to leachate recirculation; however, studies to quantify the changes in the MSW properties are scarce. This study quantifies the change in geotechnical properties of field MSW as a function of level of degradation. Fresh MSW samples were collected from the working phase of Orchard Hills landfill (Davis Junction, Illinois, USA) and were subjected to leachate recirculation and enhanced anaerobic degradation in specially designed laboratory bioreactors. Samples were exhumed from the bioreactors at different stages of degradation as determined by the amount and composition of biogas generated, and subsequently tested for moisture content, organic content, unit weight, hydraulic conductivity, compressibility, and shear strength. Moisture content of MSW increased significantly, while organic content decreased with degradation. Bulk unit weight increased with degradation which led to decrease in saturated hydraulic conductivity. Primary compression ratio showed slight increasing trend with degradation, while the secondary compression ratio was not affected significantly with the degradation. The friction angle decreased from 30°to 12°, but cohesion increased from 29 to 65 kPa with degradation based on direct shear test results. The testing of saturated MSW in triaxial con- solidated undrained conditions resulted in lower shear strength with no distinct correlation of friction angle and cohesion with degradation. Additional large-scale, long-duration testing is recommended using the field MSW samples with the consistent composition to establish the correlations between the engineering properties and degree of degradation. Overall this study showed that the engineering properties of field MSW are affected by degradation and these changes should be properly accounted in the analysis and design of bioreactor landfills involving leachate recirculation.
    Keyword Bioreactor landfills
    Degradation
    Municipal solid waste
    Hydraulic conductivity
    Compressibility
    Shear strength
    Copyright Holder Springer International Publishing AG
    Copyright Year 2015
    Copyright type All rights reserved
    ISSN 21999260
    DOI 10.1007/s40891-015-0026-2
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    Created: Mon, 14 Sep 2015, 23:34:34 JST by Claudia Matthias on behalf of UNU FLORES