PILOT-SCALE DESIGN OF AN ANAEROBIC BIOREACTOR LANDFILL

Abstract

As a result of rapid Industrialization, there has been a considerable increase in urban growth and with that municipal solid waste, leading to rising importance (alongside difficulties) in waste collection, segregation and disposal. The reason for this increase can be traced back to a population boom that the world has seen in the last century or so. For handling the issue, landfill technology proved to be an important discovery. However, landfills came with their own set of problems and question marks. For municipal landfills, causes of environmental concern focus majorly on the quantification and quality of leachate generation, landfill gas production and ultimately the biodegradation and decomposition processes occurring in the waste. A priority for proper waste treatment and disposal has always been to maximize biodegradation to reduce leachate seepage into the groundwater and to control the landfill gas generation after the closure of the dumping site. The sites used for dumping take hundreds of years to decompose the waste, and after, the area used for the project becomes completely infertile and uninhabitable for future usage. Even engineered landfills take 30-200 years to stabilize their waste to a certain extent. With this in mind, multiple techniques are being considered for implementation to enhance landfill biological activity, thereby helping in further waste degradation. With our final year project, we delved into the possibility of using the phenomenon of leachate recirculation and applying it to landfill sites. This would help by allowing for increased waste stabilization alongside generating higher amounts of landfill gas. Our project compares the benefits of anaerobic bioreactor landfills with conventional landfills and culminates with the creation of a pilot-scale design to show the effectiveness of these techniques in an area like Islamabad. A pilot-scale study being necessary as its performance would pave the way for highlighting any potential issues that could be faced and ultimately amended/rectified before full-scale plant implementation in the twin cities. After considering all the constituents of this project and based on the timeline followed, recommendations