this presentation is all about applications of the concepts of environmental geo-technology in the design of sanitary solid waste landfill. moreover it is useful for solid waste management.

1. S e m i n a r o n
“APPLICATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL
GEOTECHNOLOGY IN LANDFILL DEVELOPMENT”
Prepare by :
Kishan Bhadiyadra
M.Tech. GeoTech. (1st Year)
(Roll no: MG003 )
1
Civil Engineering Department
Dharmsinh Desai University
Nadiad

2. 2
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
1. Introduction
2. History
3. Why Engineered Design Of Landfill Is Needed?
4. Site Selection Criteria For Sanitary Landfill
5. Environmental Geotechnical Concerns in Landfill Design
6. Other Important Considerations
7. Conclusion
8. Reference
9. Appendix

3. 3
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Landfill is an engineered site where waste is isolated from
environment below the ground or on top with suitable protective
layers until it is safe and completely degraded biologically,
chemically and physically.

4. 4
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”

5. 5
“GEOENVIRONMENTALAPPLICATIONSOFGEOSYNTHETICSINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Huge Generation
1,30,000 T/Day (CPCB,2012)
Population Growth
Differential rate of generation
Open Dumping
80% Dumping sites are open
Water Pollution
Bad quality of surface water
Air Pollution
Lower quality of Air
Land Pollution
Declining quality of GW
Health Problem
Poor Health Quality
Environment Problem
1.7 billion tones CO2 per year

6. 6
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Site Selection Criteria
Neighborhood (Distance required from residential area and
surface water bodies.)
Geological and hydrological conditions of the area.
Seismic conditions of the area.
Existence of ground water and its current as well as future
utilization
Risk assessment of flooding, subsidence and landslides.
Transport distance and existing infrastructure in terms of
access roads, electricity etc.
Topography of the site.

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Landfill Liner System
A landfill liner is meant to be a low permeable barrier which
is laid down under engineered landfill sites.
Why it is needed:
Landfill liner retards migration of leachate and toxic compounds
into underlying aquifers or nearby rivers causing contamination of
the local water.
Types:
Single liner
Types:
Composite liner
Types:
Double liner
GCL

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Landfill Liner System
Design parameters of compacted clay
Property Min. Range
Permeability <= 1 x 10-7 cm/sec.
Well Graded
Max. Particle Size Not more than 25 mm
Plasticity Index 7 to 10 %
Liquid Limit 20
Activity 0.3
Conducted tests on 13
compacted clay liners
at landfills.

9. 9
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Landfill Liner System
Design parameters of compacted clay
If suitable materials are not available locally, local soils can be
blended with bentonite to achieve desirable permeability for the design
of clay liner.
NOTE:
Soil with broad range of particle size usually requires relatively small
amount of bentonite.
Generally, bentonite inclusion ranges between 6% to 15% on a dry
wt. basis. (8.5% by weight inclusion is suitable for desired properties )
Bentonite is a clay, formed as a result
of chemical weathering of volcanic ash.
 It is smectite minerals, usually
montmorillonite
[Si8Al4O20(OH)4.nH2O].

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Landfill Liner System
Minimum Specifications of Bentonite Clay
Property Minimum Range
Bentonite Form Natural Na- Bentonite
Montmorillonite content > 70%
Carbonate Content < 1 to 2%
Particle Size
80% Passing through 75µ sieve (powder)
< 1% passing through 75µ sieve(Granulated )
CEC >= 70 meq /100 gm
Free Swell Index >= 24 cm3/2 gm OR >=20 ml/ 2 gm

11. 11
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Landfill Liner System
Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL)
GCL Composed of a layer of sodium bentonite sandwiched
between two geosynthetics.
Needle
Punched
Adhesive
Based
The minimum
amount of bentonite
is not less than
400 gm/m2 in sheet
having free swell
index minimum
24 ml/ 2 gm (in
finished GCL)

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Landfill Liner System
Construction Procedure
Clay material need to be breakdown with tilling
equipment. After that stones and oversized
materials are sieved out.
By spreading it in a loose lift about 300 mm thick
layer and need to be moisturize uniformly by
applying water to the surface of lift.
Additive such as bentonite can be introduced by
mixing it with soil material in pug mill
Soil is spread on site in 15cm lift in design area
up to thickness of 60 cm with side slope 2.5:1 to
3:1 (H:V) & Compacted by heavy compactors
Appropriate GCL and geomembranes layer is than
spread respectively and joint the junctions by
seaming or punching.

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Leachate Collection System
Leachate collection system consist of filter layer with collection pipe
network which collects leachate (viscous brownish liquid) which is produced
by precipitation infiltration and decomposition of solid waste.
Protective Layer
(Shredded inert waste)
Drainage Layer
Compacted clay liner
(Composite)
Leachate collection pipe (perforated)
Geotextiles (filter)
Geomembranes (barrier)

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Leachate Collection System
Design Parameters
Layer Design Parameters Criteria
Protection Layer
Fill Material Inert waste
Thickness 30 to 50 cm
Permeability 1 x 10-5 m/s
Drainage Layer
(with collection pipe)
Fill Material Gravel (Prewashed)
Thickness 30 to 60 cm
Permeability 1 x 10-3 m/s
Gravel size 16 to 32 mm
Low Permeability Layer Compacted clay
Leakage Detection
Layer + collection pipe)
Same as Drainage layer

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Leachate Collection System
Drainage Pipe Configuration
Design Parameters Criteria
Type
Annular Perforated
(HDPE)
Inside Diameter >= 300 mm
Length As per orientation
Spacing <= 30 m
Cross Slope 1 to 5 %
Longitudinal Slope 2 to 5 %
Saw Tooth Configuration
1 : Primary collection Pipes
2 : Secondary collection Pipes2 2
1 1 1

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Waste Cell Construction With Daily Cover
Design Parameters Range
Cell Lift 30 to 50 cm
Cell Height 3 to 5 m
Slope 3:1 (H:V)
Waste Density 600 kg/m3
Daily Cover Material Demolition waste
Daily Cover Thickness 15 to 20 cm
Compacted by heavy compactors or
bulldozers precisely without damaging
bottom layers

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Final Cover System
It is a multilayered system of various materials which are used
to reduce the amount of storm water that will enter into landfill
after closing.
Objectives:
To operate landfill with a minimum post closure maintenance.
To allow the site to be returned to some beneficial use as quickly as
possible.
To make site aesthetically acceptable to nearby residents.
To protect the waste cells from erosion caused by wind & water.
To separate waste from existing environmental conditions.

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Final Cover System
Vegetation Layer
Top Soil Layer (For vegetation support)
Protection Layer (To stop burrowing animals)
Filter Layer (Prevents clogging of drainage layer)
Drainage Layer (Prevents ponding of water)
Soil Barrier Layer (Prevents infiltration of water)
Gas Vent Layer (Receives generated toxic gases)
Waste Layer
Gas Vent Pipe (In Nominal Numbers)

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Final Cover System
Layer Criteria Remark
Vegetation Layer Plants
Selection as per aesthetics
appearance & local envt.
Top Soil 50 cm thick Local soil as per vegetation
Protection Layer 60 - 90 cm thick 30 mm Rounded cobbles
(1) Geotextiles Filter 150 GSM Fabric Filter (GSM = gm/m2)
Drainage Layer 30 cm thick
Sand material
(K = 1 x 10-2 cm/sec.)
Barrier Layer 60 cm thick
Compacted clay
(K = 1 x 10-7 cm/sec.)
(2) Geomembranes 0.75 mm thick HDPE Material
Design Criteria
(1) (2)

20. 20
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Gas Collection System
In open dumping the gas generated due to
waste decomposition is emitted in local envt.
But in modern landfill waste is covered by
impervious cover so the stored gas we need to
handle carefully.
Gas collection is a new technology as CH4
& CO2 generated in 50-50% ratio, it can be a
potential fuel supply.
Detection Pipe : ½ inch dia. PVC pipe for
detection of gas migration to adjacent layers.
Collection Pipe : 1 inch dia. PVC pipe at
top followed by 1 inch dia. Perforated pipe to
collect generated gas and discharge it into the
gas processing and utilization unit.
Hole Diameter: 1.5 to 2 feet.

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Hydrological Considerations:
Hydrological analysis is required in terms of water balance within landfill by
water budget method .
The infiltration is continuously audited with the help of infiltrometer.
Measurement of direct runoff of top layers and evapo-transpiration (ET) of
the vegetation layer.
Evaluate of sub-surface runoff beneath the landfill layers.
Ground water monitoring well is constructed to ensure quality and quantity
of ground water.

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“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Geotechnical Considerations:
The compaction of each layer is proceed with relative care to protect
the respective Geosynthetics
Geosynthetics is spread in relaxed fashion and anchor trench is
constructed whenever necessary.
Geosynthetics that are in use are having textured surface to produce
some shear resistance so that the sliding risk can be reduced
( Sliding is occurred in Leuwi Gajah landfill site in Bandung, Indonesia)
Geosynthetics the are is use is made up of HDPE for durability and
strength against impact, puncture, degradation, chemical resistance etc.
QA & QC is maintained regularly of the soil as well as Geosynthetics.
First 2 m of waste layer is lightly compacted to protect Geosynthetics
layer and to ensure downward flow of discharge.

23. 23
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Environmental Considerations:
Ground water assessment & leachate leakage detection required in
regular interval for the bifurcation of the GW and leachate.
Leachate generation in each stage is measured and make surety of its
safe disposal for further treatment. (1000 lit/m3 annually)
 Gas collection system & leachate collection are capable to perform
for 20 to 25 years until the waste cells are fully decomposed.
In case of incrustation in leachate collection pipe regular inspection is
required by inserting cameras in pipe and clean it with backwash or with
modern equipments.
 EIA is performed in regular interval for the impact of landfill to envt.
Safety precautions is taken in terms of safety ropes, harness, mask to
deal with leachate and gas leakage detection.

24. 24
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
We can conclude in terms of design that the performance of any landfill
design is depends upon selection of material (Compacted clayey soil,
Geosynthetics such as Geotextiles, Geomembranes) , leak response action plan
and stability of embankment of each phase.
The whole construction of landfill should be carried out with double check in
terms of quality control(QC) & quality assurance(QA), It was noted in past that
nominal defect or small lag of quality results catastrophic situations.
Need to be very careful while selection of liner material, drainage layer
material because it will leave for long time in continuous contact with leachate
which is highly reactive as it flows through subsequent layers (e.g. if lime stone
gravel is used for drainage layer, leachate can deteriorate whole layer .)
Inspection of leachate leakage, methane migration and incrustation in
Geopipes should be done in regular interval and need to be clean properly.

25. 25
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
 Modern and engineered sanitary landfill (1- Sanitary landfill, BEIL, Ankleshwar) is
far more better option as compare to open dumping (2- Open waste mountain in Pirana,
Ahmadabad ) in terms of environmental as well as health, safety, aesthetic appearance
and storage capacity , etc.
Although, landfills has lost some of its share in the array of solid waste management
technology to those of 3R (reduce, recycle, reuse) by incineration and pyrolysis etc.
 Less carbon foot prints as compare to other system of solid waste management.
More sophisticated and more storage as compare to open dumping.
The modern landfill design using the interdependency of geotechnical engineering
with environmental engineering and hydrology can lead the sustainable development
in solid waste management technology.
V/S
(1) (2)

26. 26
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
1
ASCE committee on sanitary engineering research, ASCE journal of sanitary
engineering division, vol.85, N-SA6, pp. 37-50.
2
Specifications for sanitary landfills, The Gazette of India, Part-2, Schedule-1,
Section -3(2).
3 Landfill leachate collection system design analysis, Byrl Thomson,INEEL,2000
4
Geotechnical aspects of landfill design and construction, Qian X. , D. H. Gray &
R. M. Koerner (2002), OCW, MIT, Lecture no. 17.
5 Design, Construction and monitoring of sanitary landfill, Bagchi A. , (1994)
6 Waste containment facilities, Daniel D. E. & R. M. Koerner, (1995)
7
ASCE journal of geotechnical & geoenvironmental engineering, vol.139, no.11,
pp. 1849-1869, (2013)
8
Environment protection agency, EPA act 1992, Enacted on 23rd April, 1992,
ISBN 184095 0269
9
Principles of leachate collection system and its design, German geotechnical
society, 1993.
10
Geotechnical Evaluation of Some Soils from Part of Southwestern Nigeria,
Usable as Liners in Waste Disposal landfills, University of Ilorin , Ilorin,
Nigeria, 2002.

27. 27
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
11
Standards for owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage &
disposal facilities sec.222, 40 CFR, 264, (1999)
12
Geotechnical report for the conceptual design of waste disposal facilities at
waste area group -3, DOE-ID, 2000a, Idaha.
13
Natural phenomena of hazard design and evaluation criteria, DOE-STD-1020-
94, U.S Department of Energy, Jan’1996.
14
Liners and leak detection systems for waste disposal units, Published in the
federal register, vol.57, no.19, Jan’1997.
15
Waste containment systems, waste stabilization and landfill design evaluations,
Sharma. H, S. Lewis, 1994.
16
Recovery, Processing and Utilization of gas from sanitary landfill sites, Ham. R,
U.S EPA, 1979
17
First middle European conference on landfill technology, K. J. Witt, E. Imre,
Budapest, 2008.
18
Solid waste containment evaluation, Johann Fellner & Edi Munawar, Vienna
University of technology, Vienna, Austria.
19
U.S. EPA, "Inspection Techniques for the Fabrication of Geomembranes Field
Seams," Technical Resource Document, U.S. EPA, EPAl530ISW- 91/051.

28. 28
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
20 Case histories of clay liners, David E. Daniel, University of Texas, Texas, 1993
21
Scenario of solid waste management in present Indian context, R. Rajput, A. K.
Chopra, 2014.
22
Performance and risk assessment of sanitary landfills, Craig H. Benson & John
M. Trast, University of Virginia, May’1995.
23
Geosynthetics applications in landfill designs, Jorge G. Zorn berg & Barry R.
Christopher, University of Colorado, 1999.
24
Burson, B., Baker, A. C., Jones, B., and Shailer, J. 1997. Development and
installation of an innovative vertical containment system. Proceedings of the
Geosynthetics '97 Conference, Long Beach, California, March 1997, 1, 467-480
25
Design objectives and considerations of waste landfill locations, Peter Carey,
Gerry Carty and Brian Donlon, Published by environment protection agency,
Ireland. 2000.
26
Applications of soil bentonite mixtures in solid waste landfill construction,
Kananika Nayak & Prof. S. P. Singh, National Institute of Technology,
Rourkela, 2015.
27
Design of landfill final cover system, T. D. Stark & E. J. Newman, New mark
Civil engineering lab., University of Illinois, USA, 2010.

29. 29
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
28
Performance based design of landfill liners, T. Katsumi, C. H. Benson, G. J. Foose
& M. Kamon, Department of civil engineering, Ritsumeiken University, Shiga,
Japan, 2000.
29
Municipal solid waste generation and management statistics, Central Pollution
control board, New Delhi, 2014-2015.
30
Guidelines and Check-list for evaluation of MSW Landfills proposals with
Information on existing landfills , CPCB, New Delhi, 2008.
31
Landfill Gas Movement, Control and Energy Recovery, Philip O’Leary & Patrick
Walsh, Recycling building solutions, Michigan, USA.
Book
Author Title
Hsai – Yang Fang and John L. Daniels
Introductory Geotechnical Engineering – An
environmental Perspective
John F. Crawford & Paul G. Smith Landfill Technology
Edward McBean, Frank Rovers,
G. H. Farquhar
Solid waste landfill Engineering & design
Braja M. Das Principles of geotechnical engineering

30. 30
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Plate 1: Excavation Work, Ahmadabad site Plate 2: Spreading Of Geotextiles
Plate 3: Anchor Trench For Geotextiles Plate 4: Seaming Joints Of Geotextiles

31. 31
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Plate 5: Leachate Collection Pipe Lying Plate 6 : Leachate Collection Geopipe
Plate 7: Leachate Pond for Treatment Plate 8: Leachate Pumping System

32. 32
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Plate 9: Gas Collection Unit Plate 10 : Gas Migration Detection
Plate 11: Gas Collection Pipe With
Leakage Detection System
Plate 12: Methane Based Electricity
Generation Plant

33. 33
“APPLICATIONSOFENVIRONMENTALGEOTECHNOLOGYINLANDFILLDEVELOPMENT”
Plate 9: BEIL, Ankleshwar, Gujarat Plate 10 : Keele Valley Landfill, Canada
Plate 11: Nova Scotia, Canadian Province
Plate 12: Hickory Ridge Landfill,
Moreland Ave, Conley, U.S.A.

34. STUDYONUTILIZATIONOFWASTEMATERIALONCONSTRUCTION&BRICK
34
“Waste Is Terrible Thing To Mind, Think
Before Throwing In Nature Out There”