Possibility study of in-situ aeration on lorong halus dumping site

• Main Author: Teng, Esther Yuan Yi.
• Other Authors: Wang Jing-Yuan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering::Waste management
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48940
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Solid waste generation is a growing issue in Singapore due to the large increase in solid waste production. To manage the huge number of wastes generated on this island, Singapore has to depend on several landfills, one of which is known as Lorong Halus Dumping Ground (LHDG). LHDG was once the largest and sole waste disposal site in Singapore and was operated between the period of early 1970’s and late 1990’s. It was eventually closed in operation on the 31st of March 1999. Projects such as redeveloping the closed LHDG into commercial, industrial and residential areas have been proposed. However, studies have to be carried out to review and evaluate the potential environmental hazards associated with the natural occurring biological and physiochemical processes in the landfill site, before executing the proposed projects. To have a better understanding on the emission behavior of the municipal solid waste (MSW) found in LHDG, three experiments had been carried out. They were mainly (1) Gas Production Index (GS21), (2) Respiration Index (RI4), and (3) Leaching test. GS21 was used to assess the reactivity of waste and check the degree of stabilization of LHDG. RI4 was being carried out to determine whether the biodegradation of waste prefers to take place under aerobic conditions. Leaching test was performed to find out whether the pollutants of concern that were found in the MSW would release into the environment. In-situ aeration is found to be a promising technology and a mitigation measure to take against the landfill related hazards, where it is able to reduce the emissions of global warming greenhouse gases, optimize the conditions for microbial decomposition, accelerate stabilization and settlement, allowing for additional disposal of MSW or faster land use, decrease concentrations of leachate contaminants and most importantly assist in the development of LHDG. Hence, column study using two Landfill Simulation Reactors (LSRs) under anaerobic and aerobic conditions was performed. On the other hand, experimental results and data showed that in-situ aeration was not suitable to be incorporated in LHDG because of the high stability of waste. Therefore, the writer recommends to use landfill mining technology or advanced oxidation to deal with the waste at LHDG. To minimize the environmental hazards, advanced oxidation is a more suitable and recommended approach.