The Evaluation System of the Sustainable Development of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills and Its Application

Hailong Liu, Xiang Luo, Xingyao Jiang, Chunyi Cui and Zhen Huyan
Additional contact information
Hailong Liu: Department of Civil Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Xiang Luo: Department of Civil Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Xingyao Jiang: Department of Civil Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Chunyi Cui: Department of Civil Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
Zhen Huyan: Department of Civil Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Improving the understanding of the stabilization process is of great significance to guide the sustainable development of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. An evaluation system of the stabilization process of MSW landfills has been established. The indices of the evaluation system involve the degradation degree of MSW, the release of landfill gas production potential, and the settlement of landfills. Based on the biochemical-consolidation-solute migration coupled model, an evaluation method of the MSW landfill stabilization process is proposed by combining field tests with numerical simulation. The stabilization process of the Jiangcungou landfill in China is investigated by using the proposed method. The analyzed results show that the stabilization process of high kitchen waste content landfills can be divided into three stages, which is different from the stabilization process of landfills in developed countries. For the Jiangcungou landfill, the ratio of cellulose to lignin in MSW decreases rapidly during the fast degradation stage when obvious settlement occurs. During the slow degradation stage, the hydrolysis rate is slow and settlement develops slowly. When the landfill reaches the stabilization stage, the ratio of cellulose to lignin of MSW changes very slowly; most of the landfill gas potential has been released; the settlement stabilization is completed basically. The change processes of the three evaluation indices are different, of which the degradation stabilization index is the main one. According to the findings above, leachate recirculation is recommended to adjust the degradation environment in the landfill, which can be helpful to avoid acidification at the fast degradation stage. Temporary cover is suggested to improve landfill gas collection efficiency at the beginning of the stable methanogenic stage. The landfill site closure should be operated when the settlement rate is low.

Keywords: municipal solid waste; sustainable development; evaluation system; stabilization process; coupled model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1150/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/3/1150/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:3:p:1150-:d:485236

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().