Experimental Study on the Function of Drainage Layer Installed in Coastal Landfill Site

Abstract

Environmental conservation and post-closure land use are important considerations in coastal MSW landfills. A system consisting of a drainage layer and thick soil cover installed over an entire waste layer is proposed as an effective measure for the containment of waste leachate and post-closure land use in this study. The effectiveness of such a system having drainage layer and thick soil cover was evaluated via laboratory experiments and numeral analysis. Laboratory experimental results indicated that water discharged through the drainage layer is maintained at low concentration and is therefore expected to achieve satisfactory quality simulated using electrical conductivity as an index, as waste leachate can be properly contained in the waste layer due to the performance of the drainage layer. The experimental results also showed that this performance is not significantly deteriorated even due to several types of obstacles, such as discontinuity of drainage layer, pile installation, etc., which are anticipated at the actual landfill site. The proposed system is expected to perform satisfactorily in terms of leachate containment and post-closure land use.