Modeling of leachate recirculation using combined drainage blanket–horizontal trench systems in bioreactor landfills

Abstract

Leachate recirculation in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills operated as bioreactors offers significant economic and environmental benefits. Combined drainage blanket (DB)–horizontal trench (HT) systems can be an alternative to single conventional recirculation approaches and can have competitive advantages. The key objectives of this study are to investigate combined drainage blanket –horizontal trench systems, to analyze the effects of applying two recirculation systems on the leachate migration in landfills, and to estimate some key design parameters (e.g., the steady-state flow rate, the influence width, and the cumulative leachate volume). It was determined that an effective recirculation model should consist of a moderate horizontal trench injection pressure head and supplementary leachate recirculated through drainage blanket, with an objective of increasing the horizontal unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and thereby allowing more leachate to flow from the horizontal trench system in a horizontal direction. In addition, design charts for engineering application were established using a dimensionless variable formulation.