LANDFILL DESIGN

• The landfill design and construction must include

elements that permit control of leachate and gas.
• The major design components of a landfill,
include
– the liner,
– the leachate-collection and management system,
– gas management facilities,
– stormwater management, and
– the final cap
Design components in a landfill
 Liners
• The liner system is required to prevent migration of leachate from
the landfill and to facilitate removal of leachate.
• It generally consists of multiple layers of natural material and/or
geomembranes selected for their low permeability.
• Soil liners usually are constructed of natural clays or clayey soils.
• If natural clay materials are not readily available, commercial clays
(bentonite) can be mixed with sands to produce a suitable liner
material.
• Geomembranes are impermeable (unless perforated) thin sheets
made from synthetic resins, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl
chloride, or other polymers.
• High-density polyethylene (HDPE) tends to be used in MSW landfill
liners most commonly, because it is resistant to most chemicals
found in landfill leachates.
• Landfills may be designed with single, composite, or
double liners, depending on the applicable local or
state regulations.
• A single liner is constructed of clay or a geomembrane.
• A composite liner, which is the minimum liner consists
of two layers:
– The bottom is a clay material and
– the top layer is a geomembrane
• The two layers of a composite liner are in intimate
contact to minimize leakage.
• A double liner may be either two single liners or two
composite liners (or even one of each).
• Each liner is provided with a leachate collection system.
• The collection system separating the two liners is a leak
detection system—a series of pipes placed between the
liners to collect and monitor any leachate that leaks
through the top liner.
• Recently, the geosynthetic clay liner has been introduced
for use as the top component in the double liner system.
• This liner is composed of a thin clay layer (usually sodium
bentonite) supported by geotextiles (a geosynthetic filter)
or geomembranes.
• The geosynthetic clay liner is easily placed in the field and
uses up less volume, allowing for more volume to be used
for waste deposition.
Examples of liner systems in municipal
solid waste landfills

LCS leachate collection system,

GCL geosynthetic clay liner, and
LDS leachate-detection system.
 Leachate Collection, Treatment, and
Disposal
• Leachate is directed to low points at the
bottom of the landfill through the use of an
efficient drainage layer composed of sand,
gravel, or a geosynthetic material.
• Perforated pipes are placed at low points to
collect leachate and are sloped to allow the
moisture to move out of the landfill.
 Leachate Collection and Storage
• The primary purpose of lining a landfill cell is to
minimize the potential for groundwater
contamination.
• The liner serves as a barrier between the buried
waste and the groundwater and forms a catch
basin for leachate produced by the landfill.
• The leachate that is collected within the cell must
be removed from above the liner as quickly as
possible since the regulations restrict the head of
leachate (free liquid depth) on a liner system to
30 cm.
• The various components of a leachate collection
system for an MSW landfill typically include the
following.
– Protective and drainage layers
– Perforated collection lateral and header pipes
– Pump station sump
– Leachate pumps
– Pump controls
– Pump station appurtenances
– Force main or gravity sewer line
• Leachate removed from the landfill cell(s) is
temporarily stored on site until it can be treated,
recirculated, or transported off site for final
treatment and disposal.
• Storage of leachate is also important for
equalization of flow quantities and constituent
quality to protect downstream treatment
facilities.
• The typical leachate storage alternatives are
surface impoundments and tanks.
 Landfill Gas Collection and Use
• Gas generated within a landfill will move by pressure
gradient, following paths of least resistance.
• Uncontrolled migrating gas can collect in sewers,
sumps, and basements, leading to tragic consequences
if explosions occur.
• To prevent gas migration, gas vents or wells must be
provided.
• There are two basic systems for gas emissions control:
– passive collection and
– active extraction
 Passive collection systems
• Passive collection systems collect landfill gas
using vent collectors and release the gas to the
atmosphere without treatment or conveyance to
a common point.
• Passive vents are often provided using natural
convective forces within the landfill to direct gas
to the atmosphere.
• Passive vents may reach only a few feet below
the cap or may reach up to 75% of the landfill
depth, designed in a similar manner to the active
extraction well.
Passive gas control systems showing
venting to the atmosphere by
convective forces, and a barrier wall
 Active collection systems
• Active collection systems link collection wells with
piping and extract the gas under vacuum created by a
central blower.
• Active extraction wells may be vertical or horizontal
wells, although vertical wells are more frequently
employed.
• Vertical wells are installed in landfills using auger or
rotary drills.
• Wellheads provide a means of controlling the vacuum
applied at the well as well as monitoring of gas flow
rate, temperature, and gas quality.
• Spacing of wells is a function of gas flow.
• Landfill gas is extracted by central blowers that create
negative pressure in the pipe network.
• These blowers are sized according to the volume of gas
they must move.
• The greater the required flow, the greater must be the
negative pressure that must be created, and therefore, the
more energy is required.
• The collection system should be designed to minimize head
loss by providing sufficiently large pipes and by minimizing
the number of valves and bends in the pipe.
• However, large pipes can be costly, and the design must
balance the cost of the pipes and valves against the energy
requirements of the blowers.
Typical vertical gas well.
 Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill
Design
• Landfill stability is an important aspect of design,
particularly in light of the complex, multilayer construction
of modern landfills.
• Failures can occur as slope failures during the construction
of a landfill or after the landfill has been closed.
• The critical point of failure is usually the soil/geosynthetic
and geosynthetic/geosynthetic interfacial surfaces as well
as waste slopes.
• Landfill failures can have catastrophic results, including
damage of leachate- and gas-collection systems,
contamination of the surrounding environment, and even—
in extreme cases—loss of life.
• Landfill stability is normally analyzed using readily available
computer software.
• This analysis requires knowledge of properties of waste, materials
used in the liners and caps (synthetic and natural), and foundation
soils.
• These include such well known geotechnical properties as unit
weight, shear strength, shear moduli, internal friction angle,
cohesion, and internal pore pressure, plus geosynthetic material
properties such as tensile strength, surface roughness, flexibility,
and surface wetness.
• Waste properties are often difficult to determine because of waste
heterogeneity, changes in properties with time, and the difficulty in
collecting samples necessary to evaluate these properties.
• To minimize the probability of landfill failure,
it is recommended that side slopes of
completed and capped landfills be no greater
than 1:3, with 1:4 being preferable.
• Use of textured geomembranes can also
reduce slippage along interfaces.
• Finally, proper drainage and gas-pressure
relief in the cap will reduce pore pressure and
reduce the probability of failure.
 Storm water Management
• Many operating and design controls are available
to minimize leachate production, including
control of the size of the working face, placement
of interim cover on the waste, and use of proper
storm water runoff and run-on controls.
• Run-on control prevents the introduction of
storm water to the active area of the landfill, thus
minimizing the production of leachate, erosion,
and contamination of surface water.
• Reducing run-on also limits the production of
runoff from the landfill surface.
• Run-on can be prevented by diverting storm
water from active areas of the landfill.
• Any facility constructed to control run-on must
be capable of handling peak volumes
generated by a 24-hour, 25-year storm.
• Typical measures to control run-on include
contouring the land surrounding the landfill
cell or constructing ditches, dikes, or culverts
to divert flow.
• Runoff that is generated can be collected by
ditches, berms, dikes, or culverts that direct
contaminated runoff from active areas to
storage and treatment facilities, and
uncontaminated runoff from closed areas to
detention facilities.
• Runoff from active areas must be collected
and at least the volume generated from a 24-
hour, 25-year storm must be controlled.
Side slope swale in a landfill final
cover.
 Landfill Cap
• All landfills have to be capped, regardless of
the potential for water intrusion.
• The purpose is to prevent the production of
leachate that can contaminate groundwater.
• The effect of keeping water out of the landfill
is to maintain dry conditions and hinder the
process of biodegradation, making most
landfills merely storage facilities.
• Once the landfill reaches design height, a final cap is placed to
minimize infiltration of rainwater, minimize dispersal of
wastes, accommodate settling, and facilitate long-term
maintenance of the landfill.
• The cap may consist (from top to bottom) of
– vegetation and
– supporting soil,
– a filler and drainage layer,
– a hydraulic barrier,
– foundation for the hydraulic barrier,
– and a gas-control layer
• Slope stability and soil erosion are critical concerns for landfill
caps.
• Typical side slopes are 1:3 to 1:4, and the interface friction
between adjacent layers must resist seepage forces and may
decrease the contact stresses between layers due to buildup
of water and/or gas pressures.
Typical caps used for closing landfills.