Functional Relationships of Landfill and Landraise Capacity with Design and Operation Parameters

Abstract

Solid waste management presses for effective landfill design and operation. While planning and operating a landfill (LF) or a landraise (LR), choices need to be made regarding: (1) LF-LR morphology (base shape, side slopes, final cover thickness, LR/LF height/depth); (2) cell geometry (height, length, slopes); and (3) operation parameters (waste density, working face length, cover thicknesses). These parameters affect LF/LR capacity, operation lifespan and construction/operation costs. In this paper, relationships are generated between capacity (C, space available for waste) and the above parameters. Incorporating real data into simulation runs, two types of functions are developed: first, C = k _γ A ^1.38, where A is the LF/LR base area size and k _γ a base shape-dependent coefficient; and second, C = α_{p,γ, A}+ δ_{p,γ, A} X _p for every parameter p, where X _p is the value of p and α_{p,γ, A} and δ_p,γ,A are parameter-and base (shape/size)-specific coefficients. Moreover, the relationship between LF depth and LR height that balances excavation volume with cover material, is identified. Another result is that, for a symmetrical combination of LF/LR, with base surface area shape between square and 1: 2 orthogonal, and final density between 500 and 800 kg m^-3, waste quantity placed ranges from 1.76A ^1.38 to 2.55A ^1.38 tons. The significance of such functions is obvious, as they allow the analyst to investigate alternative LF/LR schemes and make trade-off analyses.