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Module 4 Physical Characteristic of MSW

This document discusses the geotechnical aspects of landfill design, focusing on the physical characteristics of municipal solid waste (MSW), including its composition, density, porosity, and moisture content. It highlights the variability of MSW based on cultural practices and the importance of these characteristics in landfill design and operation. Additionally, it includes an exercise for students to propose an experimental research project on the geotechnical properties of MSW.

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4 views6 pages

Module 4 Physical Characteristic of MSW

This document discusses the geotechnical aspects of landfill design, focusing on the physical characteristics of municipal solid waste (MSW), including its composition, density, porosity, and moisture content. It highlights the variability of MSW based on cultural practices and the importance of these characteristics in landfill design and operation. Additionally, it includes an exercise for students to propose an experimental research project on the geotechnical properties of MSW.

Uploaded by

spylang56
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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GEOTECHNICAL ASPECT OF LANDFILL DESIGN

Module 4
Week 12-14 (3 Weeks)
D. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WASTE MATERIALS
1. Physical Characterization as for Soil
The composition of MSW at each landfill is a function of cultural and social
waste generation habits, as well as waste management practices, and may vary
significantly from region to region, as well as with time. Based on experience in
developed countries, MSW includes primarily paper, plastic, textiles, and wood.
The MSW porous medium consists of three phases: solid (S), liquid (L), and gas
(G). In the case of MSW material, the solid phase is partly biodegradable

2. Density
Density relates the mass of a material to its respective volume. The density of
waste plays an important role in many landfill design procedures. It is especially
important in sustainable landfill operation where a primary objective is waste
transformation (stabilization), a process through which density changes. It is also
important to recognize the role that cover soil plays in determining the density of the
landfilled mass (waste plus soil). Soil is substantially denser than most municipal
wastes. As the relative amount of soil increases in a landfill (which will happen as waste
decomposition proceeds), the density of the landfill increases.
Multiple factors impact the density of landfilled materials. Since newly-
deposited and relatively dry municipal waste may have a density less than water,
added liquids increase density. When waste decomposes and ultimately settles,
density will increase as the moisture content increases, the fraction of less dense
materials is reduced (e.g., paper), and the relative abundance of cover soil increases.
During an excavation campaign on a French landfill site (Stoltz et al., 2009), a
drilling operation allowed the retrieval of unique cell samples of waste that were 0.6 m
in diameter and 1.2 m in height at several depths (Fig. 5.1.2) that corresponded to waste
differing in age. The initial composition is assumed constant versus time, hence versus
depth. For a 1.5-year-old waste at a depth between 0 and 6 m, the average γs = 1.62
Mg/m3, for 3-year-old waste between 6 and 12 m, γs = 1.85 Mg/m3, and for 7-year-old
waste between 32 and 39.5 m, γs = 2.00 Mg/m3.
3. Porosity
Porosity is the fraction of the volume of the void space to the bulk volume of a
porous medium. Several attempts have been made to measure the porosity of MSW.
Like density, porosity will be influenced by applied stress (overburden pressure), with
an observed decrease as stress increases.
Zornberg et al. (1999) investigated porosity in relation to confining pressure in a
landfill undergoing vertical expansion and estimated a range of 49–62 % based on the
specific weight of the waste and the applied overburden pressure.
The term drainable porosity is also used in some cases to describe void space,
and as defined by Beaven (2000) is the volume of water released from a unit of volume
of fully saturated material that is allowed to drain freely under gravity. Also referred
to as effective porosity, the drainable porosity is analogous to the concept of specific
yield in hydrology.

4. Moisture Content
The term moisture content refers to the amount of water (mass or volume)
contained in a matrix (soil, waste) relative to the total mass of that medium.
The volumetric moisture content (θ) refers to the volume of water occupied by
the volume of a medium. Volumetric moisture content is the parameter used when
modeling liquids flow through a porous media.
𝑽𝒘
𝑽𝑻
where θ = volumetric moisture content; VT = total volume of the landfilled
waste; VW = volume of water (or liquids).
Particles Distribution
In soil mechanics, a semi-log diagram is commonly used for characterizing the massive
proportion of grains close to spherical shape, of different sizes, using a standard sieving
process. This process is inoperative, or not relevant, for MSW that include large size
constituents as well as constituents such as plastic tapes or grass fibers which are long and
flexible, the shape of many rigid particles is far from spherical grains, e.g., pieces of glass

Related Videos:

Municipal Solid Waste Landfills https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FqWnt0WKJs


and Seismic Risk Mitigation
(landfills and earthquakes)
Municipal waste generation and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmsMVw8hGsc
characterization
Exercise No. 4
To be submitted thru MS teams Assignment Tab. Please check MS Teams for
the date of submission

Name _____________________________________ Course/Yr/Sec __________


1. If you were task to conduct a experimental research project regarding on the determination of
geotechnical properties of MSW. What geotechnical property would you like to measure and
how will you intend to the experiment? (You may proposed an instruments (if not yet
available).

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