Intrinsic and relative permeabilities of shredded municipal solid wastes from the Qizishan landfill, China

Abstract

Testing specimens for laboratory analysis were created from borehole samples of municipal solid waste (MSW) drilled from different depths at the Qizishan landfill, China. Laboratory water retention curve (WRC), water permeability, and air permeability tests were carried out to study the effects of compression and biodegradation on intrinsic permeability and the effect of water content on the relative permeability of the borehole specimens. The value of intrinsic permeability coefficient, k0, in the Kozeny–Carman model was found to be influenced by both the compression and biodegradation processes. Furthermore, the intrinsic permeability, ki, measured by air was found to be about one order of magnitude larger than that measured by water. Based on the regression results of WRC, relative water and air permeabilities were analyzed through the van Genuchten–Mualem (vG–M) model. The measured relative air permeability could be well fitted by the vG-M model. The value of parameter γv was found to be critical for a good prediction of relative water and air permeabilities using the vG-M model.