Laboratory Study on the Permeability of Fresh

Municipal Solid Waste

Zhang Zhenying1(&), Zhang Lingfeng1, Wu Dazhi1, Ding Zhengkun1,

Wang Yingfeng1, and Yuan Qiuyan2
1
School of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
zhangzhenyinga@163.com
2
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

Abstract. In this study, the permeability of fresh municipal solid waste

(MSW) was investigated to understand the relationship between the permeation
rate and hydraulic gradients, and the relationship between the permeability
coefficient and the initial density. A large-scale permeability test apparatus was
used and 15 fresh MSW samples were examined. Three mixture proportions
were adopted and five initial densities of 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, and 1.1 g/cm3 were
selected for each mixture proportion. It was found that the seepage did not occur
until the hydraulic gradient reached a critical value and the critical hydraulic
gradient increased with the initial density. The permeation rate increased with
the hydraulic gradient. A linear relationship was found between permeation rate
and hydraulic gradient. It was also found that the permeability coefficient
decreased gradually with the initial density of fresh MSW and they followed a
linear relationship with the fitted coefficients greater than 0.99. In addition, the
prediction model of the permeability coefficient was proposed. Furthermore, the
permeability coefficient of fresh MSW was found to have some interrelationship
with the sample’s mixture proportions and the organic content. Under the same
condition, the permeability coefficient decreased with the organic content. The
range of the permeability coefficient obtained for different mixture proportions
along with other findings from this study could provide a reference guide for the
analysis of the permeability of a landfill.

Keywords: Fresh municipal solid waste
Large-scale permeability test

Critical hydraulic gradient
Initial density
Darcy’s law

1 Introduction

The hydraulic characteristics of a landfill are key elements in the design of an effective
leachate collection, drainage and recirculation system. Amount all the factors that affect
the hydraulic characteristics of a landfill, the permeability of MSW is one the most
important factors. Research on the permeability characteristics of waste is often divided
into field and laboratory experiments. Outdoor experiments on a landfill often included
water-injection, water-pumping, well-drilling and prediction based on the field mea-
surement data. The disadvantages associated with field permeability coefficient test are
large discreteness and high cost. Therefore, the laboratory experiment has been
© Springer International Publishing AG 2018
D.N. Singh and A. Galaa (eds.), Contemporary Issues in
Geoenvironmental Engineering, Sustainable Civil Infrastructures,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-61612-4_22
270 Z. Zhenying et al.

commonly employed to study the permeability of MSW. Laboratory experiments

included model-tank method and permeation column method. The best advantage of
laboratory experiment was the effective control on the sample size, temperature, initial
density, mixture ratio, and other test parameters. Jang et al. (2002) carried out laboratory
permeability experiment on the waste samples from Kimpo metropolitan landfill, Korea,
and found the permeability coefficient ranging from 2.91  10−4 to 2.95  10−3 cm/s.
Korfiatis et al. (1984) adopted the constant head method to measure the permeability of
waste samples from New Jersey landfill, USA, and gained the permeability coefficient
ranging from 3  10−3 to 5  10−3 cm/s. Powrie and Beaven (1999) also used the
constant head method to study the permeability of waste beneath 50 m of a landfill, and
got permeability coefficient ranging from 10−5 to 10−2 cm/s. Durmusoglu et al. (2006)
studied the permeability of a landfill by the varying head method, and obtained the
permeability coefficient ranging from 4.7  10−4 to 1.2  10−2cm/s. Reddy et al. (2009)
used the constant head method to investigate the permeability of Orchard Hills landfill,
USA, and achieved the permeability coefficient ranging from 1.0  10−6 to 1.0  10−2
cm/s. Zhan et al. (2014) carried out laboratory permeability experiment on the waste from
different depths of Qizishan landfill, Suzhou, China. He found the range of permeability
coefficient of the landfill from 1.4  10−5 to 5.5  10−4 cm/s. Chen et al. (2014) carried
out constant head permeability test on the waste from a landfill, and gained the perme-
ability coefficient range of 1.8  10−6 to 5  10−4cm/s. Jie et al. (2005) collected
samples from 8 locations in a landfill from Beijing and found the permeability coefficient
ranging from 2.67  10−7 to 1.07  10−3 cm/s using a self-made apparatus. Zhang et al.
(2009) carried out constant head permeability experiment by using a self-made perme-
ability model apparatus, and found the permeability coefficients of the deep layer, the
middle layer and the shallow layer as 3.56  10−4 cm/s, 3.50  10−4 cm/s, 4.81  10−2
cm/s, respectively. Qu et al. (2005) carried out permeability experiment by using a
permeation column, and the permeability coefficient ranging from 1.35  10−4 to
1.26  10−3 cm/s was reported. Ke et al. (2013) carried out constant head experiment on
the self-made waste samples by using a large-diameter triaxial test apparatus and the
permeability coefficients obtained under different degradation ages and different vertical
loads ranged from 2.06  10−4 to 5.91  10−2 cm/s. Liu and Shi (2012) carried out the
Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) experiment on self-made fresh waste sample
and reported the permeability coefficient ranging from 10−5 to 10−2 cm/s.
In the present study, a large-scale permeability test apparatus was used to carry out
the experiment on 15 self-made fresh MSW samples. Three mixture proportions were
adopted and five initial densities were selected for each mixture proportion. The per-
meability of fresh MSW was systematically studied to provide a reference guide for
analysis on the permeability of a landfill.

2 Test Apparatus and Materials

2.1 Test Apparatus

The large-scale permeability test apparatus (Fig. 1) constituted an operating floor, a
permeation column, a water level controller, a water bucket, and connection tubes.
 Laboratory Study on the Permeability of Fresh Municipal Solid Waste 271

Fig. 1. Large-scale permeability test apparatus

The operating floor had a stainless steel countertop, and the length, width, and height
were 600, 500, and 650 mm, respectively. The height, internal diameter, and the wall
thickness of the permeation column were 600, 300, and 10 mm, respectively. The
thickness and the diameter of the draining stone were 15 and 298 mm, respectively.
The top of the permeation column was connected to a seal cover. A draining stone was
inset into the seal cover. The water level controller consisted of a cylindrical bucket and
a sliding rod. The height and the diameter of the cylindrical bucket were 150 and
100 mm. The length of the sliding rod was 1800 mm, which was fixed to the operating
floor. The bucket can move up and down along the sliding rod, and the hydraulic
gradient was adjustable. The materials used in apparatus were fabricated from high
strength PVC material and No. 45 stainless steel, and all screw joints were embedded
with sealing rings.

2.2 Test Materials

To simulate the different economic development levels, three mixture proportions
(MPs) were selected (Zhang et al. 2014). The composition of fresh MSW and the
mixture proportions were shown in Table 1. Figure 2 shows every component of the

Table 1. Composition of fresh MSW (wet weight)

Material Easily degradable materials Hardly degradable materials Incompressible solid materials
classification
MP1 (%) 80 5 15
MP2 (%) 65 10 25
MP3 (%) 50 15 35
Ingredients Waste Cabbage, Fruit Wood Textile Plastic Rubber Bone Metal Gravel Ceramic Glass
paper greens, peel
celery
Proportion 4% 70% 20% 6% 30% 20% 20% 30% 5% 85% 5% 5%
272 Z. Zhenying et al.

Fig. 2. Components of fresh MSW sample

fresh MSW. The fresh MSW was prepared according to the Technical specification for
soil test of landfill municipal solid waste (CJJ/T204-2013).

3 Test Process

The permeability test was performed based on the technical specification of Soil Test
(CJJ/T204-2013). The maximum size of the material was less than a tenth of the
column’s diameter. First of all, according to the selected mixture proportion of every
component, the volume of permeation column and the initial densities, the required
amount of every material was calculated, then weighed, and mixed evenly. Figure 3
presents the picture of mixed fresh MSW samples. The test materials were mixed on a
geomembrane to avoid the loss of water, then divided into five equal parts, and added
into the permeation column in sequence. To keep the initial density at the desired value,
every part was compacted to a fifth of the column. The first initial density was selected
as 0.7 g/cm3. After all the test materials were loaded, the sealing cover was locked.

Fig. 3. Mixed fresh MSW sample

 Laboratory Study on the Permeability of Fresh Municipal Solid Waste 273

Pounding and filling of the fresh MSW sample were shown in Fig. 4. The permeability
experiment was carried out two hours after locking the sealing cover. During the test
process, the water flow was kept at a stable seepage rate. The hydraulic gradient was set
from low to high with the following values of 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2.0.
The quantity of discharge water was recorded for every experiment. After the exper-
iment was over, the waste was poured out and the permeation column was cleaned for
the next experiment. Then the initial densities were changed to 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, and
1.1 g/cm3, respectively. After the experiments on the first mixture proportion were
finished, the experiments on the second and the third mixture proportions were carried
out similarly.

Fig. 4. Pounding and filling of the fresh MSW sample

4 Test Results and Analysis

4.1 Relationship Between the Permeation Rate
and the Hydraulic Gradient
Figure 5 shows the relationship between the permeation rate and the hydraulic gradient.
It was shown that the permeation did not occur till the hydraulic gradient reached a
critical value, and the permeation rate increased with the hydraulic gradient. Besides,
the linear relationship had a high correlation (>0.99) and can be expressed as:

v ¼ kði  icr Þ ð1Þ

274 Z. Zhenying et al.

Fig. 5. Relationship between the permeation rate and the hydraulic gradient at various initial
densities
 Laboratory Study on the Permeability of Fresh Municipal Solid Waste 275

Table 2. Values of parameters (k and icr)

Density, q (g/cm ) 0.7
3
0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1
Coefficient k icr k icr k icr k icr k icr
MP1 8.2 0.05 6.42 0.14 4.83 0.18 2.34 0.21 0.97 0.22
MP2 10.2 0.04 7.49 0.10 5.67 0.11 3.13 0.12 1.18 0.14
MP3 11.7 0.03 8.69 0.06 6.5 0.07 4 0.09 1.59 0.09

where v was the permeation rate, k was the permeability coefficient, i was the hydraulic
gradient, and icr was the critical hydraulic gradient. The values of k and icr are shown in
Table 2.
Moreover, Fig. 5 showed that the permeation rates under same hydraulic gradient
and various initial densities had the same trend, and the permeation rate decreased with
the initial density. The reason might be that the pore size of different waste samples was
different and as a result, the porosity of waste samples decreased with the increase in
initial density. Consequently, the seepage section also decreased, which would
decrease the permeation rate of waste samples.
According to the data presented in Fig. 5, the critical hydraulic gradient could also
be obtained. The relationship between the critical hydraulic gradient and the initial
density was shown in Fig. 6.
Figure 6 showed that the critical hydraulic gradient increased with the initial
density, and the relationship could also be formulated as a linear line, the fitted
coefficients are greater than 0.8. The linear relationship can be represented by:

icr ¼ f q þ j ð2Þ

where q is the initial density and j is a undetermined coefficient. Table 3 presents the
values of both these parameters.

Fig. 6. Relationship between the critical hydraulic gradient and the initial density
276 Z. Zhenying et al.

Table 3. Values of parameters (f and j)

Parameters MP1 MP2 MP3
f 0.41 0.22 0.15
j −0.21 −0.1 −0.07

Figure 6 shows that the critical hydraulic gradient of MP1 was the largest, and that
of MP3 was the smallest at the same initial density. This implied that the organic
content had an effect on the critical hydraulic gradient, and the critical hydraulic
gradient of waste samples with high organic content was large whereas the critical
hydraulic gradient of waste samples with low organic content was small.

4.2 Relationship Between the Permeability Coefficient

and the Initial Density
Based on Fig. 5, it was found that the relationship between the permeation rate and the
hydraulic gradient can also be represented by a straight line, and it conformed to
Darcy’s law (Matsuoka et al. 2001). The data allowed for calculation of the perme-
ability coefficient, and the relationship between the permeability coefficient and the
initial density was shown in Fig. 7.
Figure 7 showed that the permeability coefficient gradually decreased with the
initial density of fresh MSW. The relationship could also be formulated as a straight
line and the fitted coefficients had a correlation coefficient greater than 0.99. The
relationship can be expressed by the Eq. (3) as follows:

k ¼ mq þ n ð3Þ

where k is the permeability coefficient, and m and n are the fitted coefficient. The values
of all these parameters were shown in Table 4.

Fig. 7. Relationship between the permeability coefficient and the initial density
 Laboratory Study on the Permeability of Fresh Municipal Solid Waste 277

Table 4. Values of parameters (m and n)

Parameters MP1 MP2 MP3
m −24.7 −22.4 −18.6
n 28.46 25.7 21.28

Figure 7 shows that the permeability coefficient of MP1 was the smallest, and that
of MP3 was the largest at the same initial density. The reason might be that the water
permeability of organics in waste was lower than the permeability of inorganics. The
waste samples with high organics content had poor permeability, which resulted in a
small permeability coefficient. With the increase in initial density, the effect of the
organic content on the permeability coefficient decreased. For the waste sample with
lower initial density, the effect of the organic content on the permeability coefficient
was higher. Therefore, to improve the permeability of a landfill, the organic content in
the waste should be reduced, on the other hand, treatment method that degrades organic
waste should be adopted.
Based on the test results, the range of permeability coefficient for three mixture
proportions were obtained from Fig. 7. The permeability coefficient range of MP1 was
from 9.70  10−4 to 8.22  10−3 cm/s. The permeability coefficient range of MP2 was
from 1.19  10−3 to 1.02  10−2 cm/s. And the permeability coefficient range of MP3
was from 1.59  10−3 to 1.17  10−2 cm/s. Overall, the permeability coefficient of
fresh MSW ranged from 10−4 to 10−2 cm/s.

5 Conclusions

In this study, a large-scale permeability test apparatus was used to carry out the
experiment on 15 fresh MSW samples. Three mixture proportions were adopted and
five initial densities were selected for each mixture proportion. Based on the experi-
mental results, following conclusions were drawn.
(1) The seepage did not occur until the hydraulic gradient reached a critical value, and
the permeation rate increased with the hydraulic gradient. The relationship
between hydraulic gradient and permeation rate could be formulated as a linear
line with the fitted coefficients greater than 0.99, and it conformed to Darcy’s law.
In addition, the critical hydraulic gradient increase with the initial density and they
followed a linear relationship.
(2) The permeability coefficient gradually decreased with the initial density of fresh
MSW, showing a linear relationship with a high correlation coefficient of greater
than >0.99. Thereby, a model to predict the permeability coefficient was
proposed.
(3) The permeability coefficient of fresh MSW was found to have some interrela-
tionship with the sample’s mixture proportions and the organic content. Under the
same condition, the permeability coefficient decreased with the organic content.
Furthermore, the range of the permeability coefficient was obtained for different
mixture proportions which could provide a reference guide for the analysis of the
permeability of a landfill.
278 Z. Zhenying et al.

Acknowledgments. This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Contract Nos. 51478436, and 51678532), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science
Foundation of China (No. LY14E080021), and the Foundation of Key Laboratory of Soft Soils
and Geoenvironmental Engineering (Zhejiang University), Ministry of Education.

References
Chen, Y.M., et al.: Development and control of leachate mound in MSW landfills. Chin. J. Rock
Mechan. Eng. 33(1), 154–163 (2014)
Durmusoglu, E., Sanchez, I.M., Corapcioglu, M.Y.: Permeability and compression character-
istics of municipal solid waste samples. Environ. Geol. 50(6), 773–786 (2006)
Jang, Y.S., Kim, Y.W., Lee, S.I.: Hydraulic properties and leachate level analysis of kimpo
metropolitan landfill, Korea. Waste Manage. 22(3), 261–267 (2002)
Jie, Y.X., Danzeng, D.Z., Wei, Y.F.: Study on the permeability of municipal solid waste.
Geotechn. Eng. Techn. 19(6), 307–310 (2005)
Ke, H., et al.: Experimental study on saturated hydraulic conductivity of MSW under different
conditions. J. Zhejiang Univ.: Eng. Sci. 47(7), 1164–1171 (2013)
Korfiatis, G.P., Demetracopoulos, A.C., Nawy, E.G.: Moisture transport in a solid waste column.
J. Environ. Eng. 110(4), 780–796 (1984)
Liu, X.D., Shi, J.Y.: Laboratory tests on hydraulic properties of municipal solid waste. Adv. Sci.
Technol. Water Res. 32(1), 35–38 (2012)
Matsuoka, L.T., Yao, Y.P.: Soil mechanics. China. Water Power Press, Beijing (2001)
Powrie, W., Beaven, R.P.: Hydraulic properties of household waste and implications for landfills.
Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng. 137(4), 235–247 (1999)
Qu, X., et al.: Research on hydraulic conductivity test of compacted municipal solid waste.
Techniq. Equip. Environ. Pollut. Control 6(12), 13–17 (2005)
Reddy, K.R., et al.: Hydraulic conductivity of MSW in landfills. J. Environ. Eng. 135(8),
677–683 (2009)
Technical specification for soil test of landfill municipal solid waste (CJJ/T204-2013). Chinese
Building Industry Press, Beijing (2013)
Wang, W.F.: Laboratory Research on Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Municipal Solid
Waste under Different Degradation age. Zhejiang University, Hang-zhou (2010)
Zhan, L.T., et al.: Field and laboratory study on hydraulic characteristic of MSWs. J. Zhejiang
Univ.: Eng. Sci. 48(3), 478–486 (2014)
Zhang, W.J., Chen, Y.M., Qiu, Z.H.: Laboratory and field tests on hydraulic properties of landfill
waste. Rock Soil Mech. 30(11), 3313–3323 (2009)
Zhang, Z.Y., et al.: Study on the permeability and the permeable mechanism of the municipal
solid waste. Energy Educ. Sci. Technol. Part A: Energy Sci. Res. 32(3), 1517–1524 (2014)