Deer Track Bioreactor Experiment: Field-Scale Evaluation of Municipal Solid Waste Bioreactor Performance: Fid-Bau Portal

Deer Track Bioreactor Experiment: Field-Scale Evaluation of Municipal Solid Waste Bioreactor Performance

Bareither, Christopher A. / Breitmeyer, Ronald J. / Benson, Craig H. / Barlaz, Morton A. / Edil, Tuncer B.

Abstract

The Deer Track Bioreactor Experiment (DTBE) was a field-scale experiment conducted in a drainage lysimeter (8.2-m height, 2.4-m diameter) to assess the physical, chemical, and biological response of municipal solid waste with leachate addition. The experiment was operated for 1,067 days, with leachate dosing initiated on Day 399. Fresh leachate collected from a full-scale landfill was used for each dose. The ratio of cumulative leachate effluent to influent volume increased during dosing and leveled off at approximately 80%, indicating field capacity was achieved. Peak Darcy flux ranged from $2 \times 10^{- 7} m / s$ to $4 \times 10^{- 5} m / s$ , with larger flux computed for the last four doses when waste saturation was higher. During the experiment, the average dry unit weight of the waste increased 28% and the dry-weight water content ( $w_{d}$ ) increased 18%; field capacity of the waste was 44 to 48% on a dry-weight basis. Biochemical methane potential decreased from 51.4 to $3.4 mL - C H_{4} / g$ -dry, indicating that 93% of the potential methane embodied in the waste was removed. The pH of the effluent increased, whereas biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and BOD:COD all decreased during dosing. Immediate compression occurred for 1–2 weeks following waste placement, and the immediate compression ratio $C_{c}^{'}$ was 0.23. The average rate of time-dependent compression ( $C_{α}^{'}$ ) ranged between 0.048 and 0.35 and varied systematically with waste temperature (increasing $C_{α}^{'}$ with increasing temperature).