Optimization of landfill leachate management in the aftercare period

Abstract

The management of sanitary landfills after closure is an important engineering, economic and sustainability issue and is referred to as the greatest unresolved landfill challenge. Most sanitary landfills are operated according to the dry tomb principle, resulting in aftercare periods of hundreds of years. To study landfill body behaviour, long-term leachate emissions were studied with anaerobic landfill simulators, and a forecast model was developed targeting the behaviour of NH₄-N, COD and chlorides as a function of temperature and the L/S-ratio (liquid-to-solid). It was found that NH₄-N is the decisive factor in leachate management, requiring the highest L/S-ratio (around 6) to meet the direct discharge limit values. Various scenarios were constructed to find optimal leachate management strategies both in large (waste height H = 25 m) and medium-sized landfills (H = 10 m) with corresponding temperature ranges. The results show that by minimizing the aftercare period length with leachate pre-treatment and recirculation, both sustainability and economic benefits can be achieved. The results provide new views on how to manage the long-term leachate aftercare problem. In the case of large landfills, further efforts are needed to reach stabilization within a reasonable time frame.