application of the in-situ aerobic stabilization technology
APPLICATION OF THE IN-SITU AEROBIC STABILIZATION TECHNOLOGY: RESULTS AFTER 2 YEARS OF OPERATION OF THE FIRST FRENCH FULL-SCALE PILOT T. WOHLHUTER*, T. GISBERT*, A. ÅKERMAN**, C. BLOQUET** *ARCADIS, 9 avenue Réaumur, 92350 Le Plessis-Robinson, France ** SUEZ RECYCLAGE ET VALORISATION France, Tour CB21 - 16 place de l’Iris – 92040 Paris La Défense, France
Landfill management by anaerobic bioreactor has been studied and developed over the last decade and has proven its positive impacts concerning the acceleration of biodegradation and biogas production. However, late in the life of a non-hazardous waste landfill site, managed with or without leachate recirculation, there is a period during which biodegradation is slower but still produces biogas, in smaller quantities. It seems important to find a way of managing those landfills to accelerate the final phase of the degradation of waste while reducing the polluting potential of effluents involved. The development of landfill aeration, also called aerobic bioreactor, can answer to this need for new management. In this context, SUEZ RECYCLAGE ET VALORISATION, in collaboration with ARCADIS, is conducting a R&D project on landfill aeration. The first part of the project, consisting in a feasibility and strategic study, enabled placing the landfill aeration process in the technical, economic and regulatory French context and identified the interests and obstacles related to the development of this process in France (Budka et al., 2009). Based upon these results and given the specifics of the process and the lack of feedback in France, a full-scale pilot, based on the aeration concept of low pressure aeration using vertical wells with simultaneous air injection and off-gas extraction, has been implemented on an old part of a French MSW landfill (Wohlhuter et al, 2015). The in-situ aeration pilot plant comprises 3 air injection wells, 7 gas extractions wells and 17 monitoring wells, as well as a biogas treatment unit and a leachate extraction and reinjection system. The pilot is planned to be operated and monitored for 3 years in order to assess the stabilisation of the waste mass and obtain more data on the design criteria, impact on leachate and landfill gas (LFG), waste quality, settlements kinetics, costs and human health and safety (HHS) aspects of the use of the aeration technology on a typical French landfill site. Temperature is one of the major parameter monitored during the pilot operation because it is expected to increase as a consequence of exothermic reactions due to aerobic waste biodegradation. It has been shown that temperature could rise up to 70°C during aeration (Cossu et al, 2003). On the French pilote site, the temperature in the waste mass is monitored at different distances from air injection wells and at differents depths using 17 temperature probes. A control zone next to the pilote one is equiped with 8 temperature probes in order to
Proceedings Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium/ 2 - 6 October 2017 S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy / © 2017 by CISA Publisher, Italy
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017
monitor the standard waste temperature evolution, without air injection. While evidences of air circulation in the waste mass are detected during injection tests (Wohlhuter et al., 2015), aerobic reactions have been detected through temperature elevation at some locations during the first months of operation. Indeed, prior to aeration, waste temperature was quite stable and ranged from 10°C to 20°C depending on the depth and the localisation of the temperature probes, but an increase of the waste temperature (mean and maximum) with air injection has been detected in the pilot zone (see Figure 1) between September 2015 and April 2016. A decrease of the temperatures in the pilot zone is noticed from April 2016 and correlated with a diminution of the volume of injected air and then during a shutting-down period of the plant due to technical problems.
Figure 1: Evolution of temperature with air injection Operational feedback from the field and results of the first 2 years of operation and monitoring will be presented in the paper and more results will be shared and discussed in the framework of the 16th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. REFERENCES Budka A., Bloquet C., Presse D., Gisbert T. (2009) The new landfill management ways in development in relation with the evolution of the legislative and economical context. Proceedings of SARDINIA 2009 – 12th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. Cossu R., Raga R., Rossetti R., (2003) Full scale application of in situ aerobic stabilization of old landfills. Proceedings Sardinia 2003, Ninth International Waste Management and Landfill
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017
Symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy; 6 - 10 October 2003 Wohlhuter T., Gisbert T., Åkerman A., Bloquet C., Bastide P., Isorni O., (2015) Application of the in-situ aerobic stabilization technology: first results after 8 months of operation of the first French full-scale pilot. Proceedings Sardinia 2015, 15th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy; 5 - 9 October 2015
Landfill management by anaerobic bioreactor has been studied and developed over the last decade and has proven its positive impacts concerning the acceleration of biodegradation and biogas production. However, late in the life of a non-hazardous waste landfill site, managed with or without leachate recirculation, there is a period during which biodegradation is slower but still produces biogas, in smaller quantities. It seems important to find a way of managing those landfills to accelerate the final phase of the degradation of waste while reducing the polluting potential of effluents involved. The development of landfill aeration, also called aerobic bioreactor, can answer to this need for new management. In this context, SUEZ RECYCLAGE ET VALORISATION, in collaboration with ARCADIS, is conducting a R&D project on landfill aeration. The first part of the project, consisting in a feasibility and strategic study, enabled placing the landfill aeration process in the technical, economic and regulatory French context and identified the interests and obstacles related to the development of this process in France (Budka et al., 2009). Based upon these results and given the specifics of the process and the lack of feedback in France, a full-scale pilot, based on the aeration concept of low pressure aeration using vertical wells with simultaneous air injection and off-gas extraction, has been implemented on an old part of a French MSW landfill (Wohlhuter et al, 2015). The in-situ aeration pilot plant comprises 3 air injection wells, 7 gas extractions wells and 17 monitoring wells, as well as a biogas treatment unit and a leachate extraction and reinjection system. The pilot is planned to be operated and monitored for 3 years in order to assess the stabilisation of the waste mass and obtain more data on the design criteria, impact on leachate and landfill gas (LFG), waste quality, settlements kinetics, costs and human health and safety (HHS) aspects of the use of the aeration technology on a typical French landfill site. Temperature is one of the major parameter monitored during the pilot operation because it is expected to increase as a consequence of exothermic reactions due to aerobic waste biodegradation. It has been shown that temperature could rise up to 70°C during aeration (Cossu et al, 2003). On the French pilote site, the temperature in the waste mass is monitored at different distances from air injection wells and at differents depths using 17 temperature probes. A control zone next to the pilote one is equiped with 8 temperature probes in order to
Proceedings Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium/ 2 - 6 October 2017 S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy / © 2017 by CISA Publisher, Italy
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017
monitor the standard waste temperature evolution, without air injection. While evidences of air circulation in the waste mass are detected during injection tests (Wohlhuter et al., 2015), aerobic reactions have been detected through temperature elevation at some locations during the first months of operation. Indeed, prior to aeration, waste temperature was quite stable and ranged from 10°C to 20°C depending on the depth and the localisation of the temperature probes, but an increase of the waste temperature (mean and maximum) with air injection has been detected in the pilot zone (see Figure 1) between September 2015 and April 2016. A decrease of the temperatures in the pilot zone is noticed from April 2016 and correlated with a diminution of the volume of injected air and then during a shutting-down period of the plant due to technical problems.
Figure 1: Evolution of temperature with air injection Operational feedback from the field and results of the first 2 years of operation and monitoring will be presented in the paper and more results will be shared and discussed in the framework of the 16th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. REFERENCES Budka A., Bloquet C., Presse D., Gisbert T. (2009) The new landfill management ways in development in relation with the evolution of the legislative and economical context. Proceedings of SARDINIA 2009 – 12th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium. Cossu R., Raga R., Rossetti R., (2003) Full scale application of in situ aerobic stabilization of old landfills. Proceedings Sardinia 2003, Ninth International Waste Management and Landfill
Sardinia 2017 / Sixteenth International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium / 2 - 6 October 2017
Symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy; 6 - 10 October 2003 Wohlhuter T., Gisbert T., Åkerman A., Bloquet C., Bastide P., Isorni O., (2015) Application of the in-situ aerobic stabilization technology: first results after 8 months of operation of the first French full-scale pilot. Proceedings Sardinia 2015, 15th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy; 5 - 9 October 2015
