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IMPROVEMENT OF LEACHATE PREDICTION THROUGH MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LAYERS 1
Author(s) -
Uguccioni Mark,
Zeiss Chris
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1997.tb03551.x
Subject(s) - leachate , environmental science , moisture , municipal solid waste , hydraulic conductivity , water content , water balance , environmental engineering , soil science , waste management , geotechnical engineering , meteorology , engineering , soil water , physics
Existing leachate prediction models over‐ or underestimate leachate generation by up to three orders of magnitude. Practical experiments show that channeled flow in waste leads to rapid discharge of large leachate volumes and heterogeneous moisture distributions. In order to more accurately predict leachate generation, leachate models must be improved. To predict moisture movement through waste, the one‐domain water balance model HELP, and two‐domain PREFLO, are tested. Experimental waste and leachate flow values are compared with model predictions. When calibrated with experimental parameters, the HELP model yields reasonable predictions of cumulative leachate flow and PREFLO provides estimates of breakthrough time. In the short term, field capacity has to be reduced to 0.12 and effective storage and hydraulic conductivity of the waste must be increased to 0.2 and 2.2 cm/s respectively. In the long term, a new modeling approach must be developed to adequately describe the moisture movement mechanisms.