Laboratory Simulation of Aeration on Municipal Solid Waste from Barmshoor Landfill

This study was aimed to determine the influence of the aeration on some of the leachate properties and geotechnical aspects of the fresh municipal solid waste (MSW) in laboratory obtained from Barmshoor landfill, Iran. Two different bioreactors were filled with the same MSW in the laboratory and cured under anaerobic and aerobic conditions for 200 days. Temperature variation, the rate of leachate generation and its properties (pH, COD, BOD and organic content) as well as the shear strength parameters and settlement of the MSW for each bioreactor were measured in curing of the bioreactors. Aeration causes the temperature of the aerated sample to increase considerably. The temperature difference between the two bioreactors becomes about 7 degrees C after 200days. For the aerated bioreactor, leachate volume decreased, then increased and finally, it reduced to the end of the experiment. The aerated sample produces less leachate compared to the blank sample. Aeration of MSW has significantly reduced COD of the generated leachate after 120 days. The COD/BOD ratio is remaining constant for the aerated sample (less than 1.6) during the experiment. However, it increases in the case of the blank sample after 60th day and reaches to more than 5 at the end of the experiment. Therefore, waste aeration can eliminate some complicated organic materials due to the presence of oxygen in the injected air. Comparing the results of the direct shear test of both bioreactors indicates that the aeration increases the shear strength at the end of the procedure.