Environ Monit Assess (2007) 135:141–151
DOI 10.1007/s10661-007-9709-z
Performance of bioreactor landfill with waste mined
from a dumpsite
Obuli P. Karthikeyan & M. Swati &
R. Nagendran & Kurian Joseph
Received: 25 April 2006 / Accepted: 10 November 2006 / Published online: 25 April 2007
# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007
Abstract Emissions from landfills via leachate and
gas are influenced by state and stability of the organic
matter in the solid waste and the environmental
conditions within the landfill. This paper describes a
modified, ecologically sound waste treatment tech-
nique, where municipal solid waste is anaerobically
treated in a lysimeter-scale landfill bioreactor with
leachate recirculation to enhance organic degradation.
The results demonstrate a substantial decrease in
organic matter (BOD 99%, COD 88% and TOC
81%) and a clear decrease in nutrient concentrations
especially ammonia (85%) over a period of 1 year
with leachate recirculation.
Keywords MSW . Leachate recirculation .
Bioreactor landfill . Dumpsite . Heavy metal
Introduction
Open dumping, the common method of Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW) disposal in developing counries,
has undesirable environmental and health impacts.
India, a developing country in Asia disposes
O. P. Karthikeyan : M. Swati :
R. Nagendran : K. Joseph (*)
Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
e-mail: kuttiani@vsnl.com
52,000 tonnes of MSW in open dumps (Inance et al.
2004). The projected cumulative land requirement for
India to dispose the MSW generated in 2047 would
be about 1,400 km2 against the present land require-
ment of 100 km2 (Singhal and Pondaye 2001).
Indiscriminate dumping leads to heaps of uncov-
ered wastes, open burning, pools of standing
polluted water, insects and rodent infestations and
families of waste scavengers picking up any valu-
ables (Pugh 1999). It is essential to have environ-
mentally sound management of MSW for public
health, well being, and sustainability of the urban
environment (Schubeler 1996). Reclamation and
rehabilitation of dumpsites have been suggested as
a strategic approach for sustainable waste disposal
(Hogland et al. 1995; Cossu et al. 1996). According
to Visvanathan et al. (2003), sustainable landfill
management in Asia can be achieved in the long
term, by moving from open dumping to advanced
standards of sanitary landfilling in a phased manner.
The process depends on the risk posed by each dump
and the financial requirements (Rushbrook 2001;
Kurian et al. 2004).
Landfill mining and reclamation is a process
whereby solid wastes, which have previously been
land filled are excavated and processed. In addition to
reclaiming valuable resources, the recovered site can
be upgraded into a state-of-art landfill, redeveloped or
closed for some other suitable purpose (Morelli 1990;
Hogland et al. 2004; Zee et al. 2004).
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Figure 1 illustrates a biofactory approach for
restoration and reclamation of dumpsites described by
Ishii et al. 2005. The approach indicates that treatment
of waste can be achieved either in situ or ex situ by
removing the waste from dumpsite. The removed
waste must be separated to their nature and processed
by various options such as incineration, biological
methods for organic resource recovery and bioreactor
for hazardous material. Leachate recirculation into
MSW to operate a landfill as a bioreactor is a potential
component of biofactory approach for treatment of
organically rich MSW.
The ability of leachate recirculation to enhance the
biodegradation and the leaching of the easily leachable
components has been widely investigated (Shimaoka et
al. 1993; Maier et al. 1995; van den Broek et al. 1995;
Yuen et al. 1995; Ham and Bookter 1997; Blakey et al.
1997; Novella et al. 1997; Burton and Watson-Craik
1999; Pouech et al. 1999). Additionally, recirculation
promotes the stabilisation of the landfilled waste
through the provision of optimum moisture conditions,
a more effective transfer of microbes, substrates, and
nutrients throughout the waste body and dilution of
high concentrations of inhibiting substances proving to
be potential.
Chennai, the fourth biggest metropolitan city in
India has the highest percapita MSW generation rate
of 0.6 kg/day. The city’s two dumping sites at
Perungudi and Kodungaiyur are in operation since
Fig. 1 Concept of Biofac- Biofactory
tory approach
Removed
waste
Waste
Pretreatment and
separation
Not removed
Waste
Contaminant spreading
to surrounding area
Source: Ishii et al. 2005
Environ Monit Assess (2007) 135:141–151
1987. An Integrated Risk Based Approach (IRBA)
indicated that these dumps pose moderate environ-
mental risks (Kurian et al. 2005).
In this context, feasibility study on options for
rehabilitating the existing dumpsites assumes impor-
tance. The present study was aimed to use anaerobic
treatment of solid waste excavated from dumpsite
with appropriate leachate recirculation practices for
waste stabilization. The effect of leachate recircula-
tion on solid waste stabilisation and the leaching
behavior of pollutants (COD, DOC, Ammonia,
Chloride etc.) and heavy metals from the mined waste
are studied and discussed.
Materials and methods
Sampling site and sample collection
The Kodungaiyur dumping ground spreads to about
350 acres in a marshy land adjacent to the alluvial low
lands of Korattalaiyar river. It is located 2.5 km east
of the Kodungaiyur village and lies at 13°070 37.6µN
and 80°160 48µE. The current dumping rate is about
1,800 tons/day. Bulk samples were collected by
using excavators and transported immediately by
using a truck to the laboratory for characterization
and filling into the lysimeter. Samples were collected
from six different locations of the dumpsite and
Development of system for restoration and reclamation
Incineration or melting plant
Others Recycling
Resources Organics
Resource recovery by
Biological methods
(Biogas, compost)
(Dioxin, etc.)
Hazardous
material Treatment by bio-reactor
Stabilization of waste by biological methods
(Contaminant and in-situ bioremeditaion)
Countermeasure for prevention
Bio-monitoring
of contaminant spreading
(Water, soil, air, waste and pathogens)