Influence of supplemental heat addition on performance of pilot-scale bioreactor landfills

Implementation of supplemental heat addition as a means of improving bioreactor landfill performance was investigated. The experimental work was conducted with two pilot-scale bioreactor setups (control cell and heated cell) operated for 280 days. Supplemental heat was introduced by recirculating leachate heated up to 35 °C compared to the control which used similar quantities of leachate at room temperature (21 ± 1 °C). The temporal and spatial effects of recirculating heated leachate on the landfill internal temperature were determined, and performance was assessed in terms of leachate parameters and biogas production. Recirculation of heated leachate helped establish balanced anaerobic microbial consortia that led to earlier (70 days) and greater (1.4-fold) organic matter degradation rates, as well as threefold higher methane production compared to the non-heated control. Despite the significant enhancements in performance resulting from supplemental heat addition, heated leachate recirculation did not significantly impact waste temperatures, and the effects were mainly restricted to short periods after recirculation and mostly at the upper layers of the waste. These findings suggest that improvements in bioreactor landfill performance may be achieved without increasing the temperature of the whole in-place waste, but rather more economically by raising the temperature at the leachate/waste interface which is also exposed to the maximum moisture levels within the waste matrix.