Evaluation of the hydraulic conductivity for MSW using pilot plant test- A case study of Baghdad city/Iraq

Abstract

The hydraulic properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) have been regarded as core factors affecting landfills’ flows. To successfully design and applied, information on the conductivity of MSW is required. A laboratory examination of MSW’s hydraulic conductivity in Baghdad City is presented in this study and assesses the influence of waste compaction on hydraulic conductivity parameter. A hydraulic conductivity test was carried out in a laboratory-scale cell using three mixtures of fresh shredded MSW samples ‘SAM1’, ‘SAM2’ and ‘SAM3’ collected from the households Baghdad City. The saturated vertical hydraulic conductivity was quantified according to different types of compactions using a falling head test. A clear trend of decreasing hydraulic conductivity with increasing compaction degree was highlighted after the monitoring process, reflecting the impact of varying waste densities and fine particles’ movement in the column. This experiment shows that the average hydraulic conductivity values at 50, 70, and 90 degrees of compaction were 1.23×10-4 m/s, 0.96×10-4 m/s, and 2.55×10-5 m/s, respectively. The results distinctly showed that the MSW’s hydraulic conductivity could be significantly affected by vertical compaction that is fundamentally attributed to accretion in density resulting in the low void ratio.