Release potential, neglected leakage and reduction countermeasures of COD and Ammonia in MSWLs

Haonan Yang; Qifei Huang; Ya Xu; Rui Xiang; Yuqiang Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171894

Release potential, neglected leakage and reduction countermeasures of COD and Ammonia in MSWLs

Sci Total Environ. 2024 May 20:926:171894. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171894. Epub 2024 Mar 26.

Authors

Haonan Yang¹, Qifei Huang², Ya Xu³, Rui Xiang⁴, Yuqiang Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; Research Institute of Solid Waste, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; Research Institute of Solid Waste, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; College of Water Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100085, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; Research Institute of Solid Waste, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; Key Laboratory of Industrial Waste Recycling and Regulation, Gansu Province, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China. Electronic address: xuya@craes.org.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; Research Institute of Solid Waste, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; College of Water Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: 15671554758@163.com.

PMID: 38531441
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171894

Abstract

In order to eliminate the impact of the industrial revolution on the environment and improve the water ecological environment, pollutant discharge reduction is imperative. With the acceleration of global discharge reduction process, the huge pollutant release potential and potential environmental effects of municipal solid waste landfills gradually appear, but its release amount and intensity have not been quantitatively revealed. We propose a coupling method of parameter stochastic simulation and physical process model simulation to estimate the hidden leakage of large-scale regional municipal solid waste landfills, and provide a methodology for estimating the hidden leakage of landfills in other countries and even in the whole world by taking China, which has the largest amount of waste generation among developing countries, as an example. Prior to the implementation of stringent construction quality control and assurance management requirements, the average annual leachate generation potential over the entire life cycle of 2600 landfills in China was estimated to be 4.66 × 10⁸ m³, in which the concentrations of COD and NH₃-N are 5.38 × 10²-6.48 × 10⁴ mg/L and 6.10-3.50 × 10³ mg/L, respectively, and the total amounts are 5.21 × 10³-7.81 × 10⁸ t and 8.09 × 10²-6.65 × 10⁷ t, respectively. About 14 % of these pollutants may leak into the environmental media through the landfill liner with the average number of holes of 21.5/ha. For different regions, the overall release, discharge and leakage of COD and NH₃-N in East China account for 35.70 %, 36.68 % and 29.60 % respectively, making it the region with the highest potential for discharge and risk of leakage. Meanwhile, the implementation of mandatory regulations related to leachate generation and control has led to a significant reduction in the leakage of pollutants. For instance, comprehensively detecting and repair of holes in the impermeable liner has reduced the number of holes to 2/ha, resulting in a reduction of >90 % in the leakage of pollutants.

Keywords: Conventional pollutants; Discharge reduction; Leakage; MSWLs.