Liquid and gas permeabilities of unsaturated municipal solid waste under compression

Abstract

A novel set of experimental apparatus was designed and constructed to study the changes in the fluid-flow properties of municipal solid waste (MSW) related to the physical evolution of its structure under compression. The vertical liquid and gas permeabilities of MSW samples were measured in a laboratory-constructed cell termed an oedopermeameter. Another original device, a gas pycnometer, was employed to assess the volumetric gas content of the porous medium. Finally, the horizontal gas permeability of the compressed MSW sample was measured using another laboratory-constructed cell called a transmissivimeter. The results made it possible to characterise the intrinsic gas permeability as a function of porosity. Additionally, gas permeability measurements of samples with different liquid contents allowed the derivation of gas permeability correlations as functions of the physical parameters of the medium. A unique relationship was found between the gas permeability and the volumetric gas content.