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Clogging of the landfill drainage layer leads to a high leachate head developing over the bottom liner, which increases the risk of leachate leakage. Estimation of the maximum leachate head in the landfill drainage layer is of great significance to the pollution control of bottom liners. In this study, a simplified model considering the development of clogging is established through assuming the spatial and temporal distributions of clogging in a drainage layer of landfill. The calculation results are compared with a previous study to verify the proposed model. Through parameter analysis, it is discovered that the larger the initial hydraulic conductivity, the less the influence of clogging on the leachate head at the beginning, but it will increase over time. Meanwhile, a longer drainage distance, a larger inflow rate, or a higher ion concentration will lead to a greater influence of clogging on the leachate head. The completion time of clogging is more sensitive to the variation of inflow rate and ion concentration. In order to effectively control the maximum leachate head, it is suggested that the drainage material with large hydraulic conductivity such as pebbles or gravel should be used, the drainage slope should be greater than 4%, the drainage distance should be controlled at 20 m, and calcium products should be removed from leachate through adsorption, precipitation, or waste reuse.

Vertical drains have been widely used in soil improvement projects to accelerate consolidation and improve the strength of soft soil. Previous consolidation models are mainly based on instantaneous loading, which cannot reflect the actual time-variable loading condition. This paper presents a set of analytical solutions for consolidation with vertical drains under depth and time-dependent loading, involving one-step loading, multi-step loading, and cyclic loading. A four-element model, which is a combination of the Merchant model and Maxwell model, is introduced to consider the rheological characteristics of the soil. By simulating the results of a consolidation test, it is found that the four-element model is more accurate than the Merchant model in predicting the changes in pore pressure and settlement during the clay consolidation process. Based on the solutions obtained, several factors affecting consolidation behavior are investigated. It has been shown that the rheological behavior becomes more and more obvious at the later stage of consolidation with the decrease both in the modulus of the spring in the Kelvin body and the viscosity coefficient of the independent dashpot. With the increase in the viscosity coefficient of the dashpot in the Kelvin body, the rate of consolidation becomes faster at an initial stage but slower at a later stage. For cyclic loading, the consolidation degree in each cycle reaches a maximum at the end of unloading and reaches a minimum at the beginning of the loading.

The variation characteristics and influence factors of methane emission at Jiangchungou landfill, one of the largest landfill in China, has been investigated by a one-year field monitoring campaign during 2015-2016. The methane concentration above the landfill surface varied widely from negligible to 33,975 ppm. At least 75% of the methane concentration values of the sampling points are lower than the allowed limit (500 ppm). More than 95% of the high concentration zones (500 ppm) were located in the temporary cover area (TA). Several environmental factors were found to be related to the variation of the concentration values. A clear correlation was observed between barometric pressure and exceeding-standard areas with a correlation coefficient of -0.743 (p 0.1). The concentration values in the final cover area (FA) were about one order of magnitude lower than those observed in the TA due to the fact that rapid methane production rate happened in the first 180 days after the high kitchen content wastes were landfilled. The percentages of the measured concentration values exceeding 500 ppm near the gas collection wells in TA zone were 71.5% in November, 2015 and 55.7% in January, 2016 due to the leakage from the sides of gas collection wells. The average methane concentration values on the HDPE geomembrane was higher than those observed on the loess cover due to the fact that the geomembrane was relatively thin (0.5 mm) and can be easily damaged by the operation vehicles. Thicker geomembranes (1.5 mm) with a good construction quality control are expected to provide better performance at this site.

Landfill odorous gas emission has been a serious environmental problem. In this paper, in situ monitoring and numerical analysis model Calpuff were adopted to analyze the odour nuisance problem near a large-scale landfill in Hangzhou, east of China. The static chamber technique was used to measure the odorous gas emission intensity on the working area surface in the landfill during the Sep. 2016 to Apr. 2017, irregularly. The obtained results indicated that the emission rate of H2S varied from 6.14 mg/m2/h to 91.7 mg/m2/h. The average emission rate in each month was then used in the Calpuff model to analyze the emission pattern of the H2S. The terrain and meteorological conditions at the site were also considered. Concentration of H2S at the community which is 4.2 km away from the landfill is 15 times greater than its olfactory thresholds (0.62 μg/m3). In order to keep the odorous influence area within landfill site, proper engineering measures should be taken to ensure the emission rate of H2S drops to the 15% of its original value.

Variation of volatile organic compound (VOC) concentration and composition in an active landfill were monitored by a developed static chamber for 2 years. The landfill gas from 82 sampling points including 70 points on working face, 8 points on geomembrane (GMB), and 4 points on final cover were analyzed for VOCs by GC-MS. Twenty-eight types of VOCs were detected, including terpenes, sulfur compounds, aromatics, hydrocarbon, oxygenated compounds, aldehyde compounds, and halogenated compounds. Terpenes were the dominant VOCs recorded in the spring, autumn, and winter seasons, whereas sulfur compounds dominated in the summer season. Limonene, ethyl alcohol, and acetone were identified as the main VOCs emitted from the waste working face of the landfill. Limonene dominated the terpenes with a maximum concentration of 43.29 μg m−3 in the autumn season. Limonene was also the dominant VOC escaping from the defects of geomembrane temporary cover reaching an average concentration 38 μg m−3. The defects of geomembranes can be a great emission source of VOCs. Emission rate of limonene was 2.24 times higher than that on the working face. VOC concentrations on the final cover can be 166 times less than those obtained on the working face. VOC emitted from the landfill did not represent a health threat for human health. However, concentrations of methyl mercaptan and ethanethiol on the working face were 3.4–22.8 times greater than their odor threshold, which were the main compounds responsible for odor nuisance. Results obtained from CALPUFF model indicated that methyl mercaptan and ethanethiol would not be a nuisance for the residents around the landfill. However, these compounds are harmful to the workers on the landfill.