Performance results from the Tucuman solid waste bioreactor

Performance results obtained from a 6200 ton demonstration-scale anaerobic bioreactor, constructed on the Pacara Pintada Landfill in Tucuman, Argentina, are described. The operational aspects over a 30-month period for the Tucuman bioreactor demonstrate the ability to maintain the bioreactor in the mesophilic range, with the result that the generation and collection of the biogas has been maintained at accelerated rates with a rate constant of approximately 0.5 year(-1). Field measurements of metal concentrations in leachate indicated significant attenuation over time. Refuse subsidence, measured over a 28-month period, ranged from 4% to 19%, with an average of 11 % subsidence across the Tucuman cell. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.