BIOLEACH: A New Decision Support Model for the Real-Time Management of Municipal Solid Waste Bioreactor Landfills

Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri, María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero and Eduardo Cassiraga
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Javier Rodrigo-Ilarri: Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
María-Elena Rodrigo-Clavero: Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Eduardo Cassiraga: Instituto de Ingeniería del Agua y Medio Ambiente (IIAMA), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-23

Abstract: This paper introduces BIOLEACH, a new decision support model for the real-time management of municipal solid waste bioreactor landfills that allows estimating the leachate and biogas production. Leachate production is estimated using an adaptation of the water balance equation which considers every hydrological component and the water consumed by anaerobic organic matter degradation to create biogas and the leachate recirculation flows pumped from the landfill pond under a bioreactor management scheme. Landfill gas production is estimated considering the leachate formation process as a coupled effect through the production or consumption of water. BIOLEACH uses waste production and climate data at monthly scale and computes leachate production accounting for the actual conditions inside the waste mass. Biogas production is computed simultaneously, considering the available water to adjust the chemical organic matter biodegradation. BIOLEACH is a valuable bioreactor managing tool as it allows calculating the recirculation volume of leachate that ensures optimal moisture conditions inside the waste mass and therefore maximizing biogas production. As an illustrative example of a BIOLEACH application, the model has been applied to a real landfill located in Murcia Region (Spain) showing the economic and environmental benefits derived from leachate superficial recirculation.

Keywords: landfill; leachate; bioreactor; biogas; modeling; simulation; municipal solid waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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