OPERATING PLAN FOR
THE LANDFILL BIOREACTOR PROJECT March 23, 1999 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section
1.0 INTRODUCTION The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) awarded a grant to the Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management (the Center) to conduct the demonstration of full-scale landfill bioreactor technology in Florida. The demonstration project will be managed by the Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management in accordance with this Operating Plan as required by the FDEP grant award, and will involve participation of a number of Universities in the State University System. The primary goal in pursuing landfill bioreactor technology is the operation of solid waste landfills in a manner resulting in accelerated stabilization of the waste. Landfill bioreactor operation includes, among other things, the addition of moisture to the solid waste to create an environment favorable for the microorganisms responsible for waste decomposition. This approach differs greatly from the traditional Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D approach of managing solid waste landfills in a fashion that discourages waste decomposition by minimizing moisture entrance into the landfill. A primary feature of landfill bioreactor is the recirculation of landfill leachate, or possibly other liquids, to the solid waste. The recirculation of leachate will be a major component of the bioreactor operation in this project. Another feature of a landfill bioreactor that has been proposed for the acceleration of waste decomposition and landfill stabilization is the addition of air. The addition of air, and thus oxygen, promotes the aerobic stabilization of the landfilled waste. This is the same process that decomposes waste in a compost system. An evaluation of the use of aerobic processes for the rapid stabilization of landfilled waste will be a major focus of this project. The project will incorporate a system that will allow both air to be injected and gas to be extracted. A temporary membrane cap will be placed on the surface of the landfill to allow the capture of the majority of the gas emissions from the landfill. Wells will be constructed in the bioreactor to allow not only leachate recirculation, but also, air injection, and gas extraction. The FDEP selected the New River Regional Landfill (NRRL), in Union County, Florida, as the site to conduct this demonstration project. This document presents the initial Operating Plan for demonstrating bioreactor landfill technology in cells 1 and 2 at the NRRL. The demonstration will include the recirculation of leachate, the ability to inject air into the landfill, and the ability to collect the majority of the gaseous emissions from the landfill. The landfill bioreactor will be instrumented for the purpose of collecting in-situ measurements of such parameters as leachate head on the liner, moisture content and temperature of the waste. This project will result in a full-scale landfill being operated as a solid waste treatment system. The information and data collected will allow the technology to be fully evaluated as a method for managing solid waste in Florida. This document will evolve during the planning, design, and permitting phase, to include information such as the daily operation and monitoring of the bioreactor, protocol for visiting and conducting research at the site, plans for health and safety, and identification of team members and their responsibilities. Any changes and additions to this Operating Plan (OP) will be submitted to the FDEP by the Center for incorporation into the OP. 2.0 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The primary goal of the landfill bioreactor demonstration project is to
The objectives of the landfill bioreactor demonstration are to:
3.0 DESCRIPTION OF LANDFILL BIOREACTOR AT NRRL 3.1 Overview The landfill bioreactor demonstration project at the New River Regional Landfill (NRRL) involves the modification of the existing landfill cells 1 and 2. These cells are contiguous and form one large lined area of approximately 16 acres. Cell 3, currently under design, is not included as part of the current work, but may be proposed for incorporation into the research project at a later date. Approximately 10 acres (cell 1 and part of cell 2) will be dedicated as an active bioreactor area. A leachate recirculation system, an air injection system, and a gas extraction system will be installed in this area. Instrumentation will be installed within the waste mass to assist in monitoring and control. Environmental sample collection and analysis, and field measurements, will be routinely performed to monitor the progress of bioreactor treatment. Instrumentation for measuring depth of leachate on the liner will be installed in a currently uncovered (as of February 1999) area of the cell 2 leachate collection system. The responsibility of the design and construction of the bioreactor landfill modifications rests with the NRSWA and their designated parties. 3.2 Summary of Basic Project Components The basic components of the NRRL bioreactor demonstration project include:
3.3 Site Management Plan As part of the design and permitting process, a detailed Site Management Plan will be developed. Information included in this Site Management Plan will include, at a minimum, the following:
3.4 Research Activities Numerous research activities will be coordinated with the design, construction, and operation of the facility. The objectives of the researchers will be incorporated during the design of the landfill bioreactor. Research activities will include instrumentation of the landfill as a means to collect valuable in-situ information about bioreactor performance. Responsibilities for the installation, operation, and upkeep of such instrumentation will be delineated during the design phase and developed as part of the detailed operations plan. The current plans for instrumentation are included in Table 3.1. The research will also involve the collection and analysis of numerous environmental samples (e.g. leachate, gas, waste), and the measurement of bioreactor performance in the field (e.g. settlement, gas flow). Current plans for routine monitoring are included in Table 3.2 Table 3.1 Summary of
Instrumentation
Table 3.2 Summary of
Monitoring
4.0 METHODOLOGY FOR MEETING PROJECT OBJECTIVES The project goals and objectives were outlined in section 2.0. The description of the demonstration landfill bioreactor, the governing operational plan, and the research activities to be coordinated with the design, construction and operation of the bioreactor were described in sections 3.2, 3.3. and 3.4. This section describes how the project goals and objectives will be met through the project’s experimental methodology. Objective: Design and operate the bioreactor using innovative techniques and concepts. The bioreactor landfill will be designed, constructed, and monitored with a number of innovative techniques and concepts. While the operation of a landfill as a bioreactor is still a relatively new technology, research in this area has been conducted for a number of years, and some full-scale operations of limited scope have been performed. In addition to further refinement of existing bioreactor concepts at the full-scale, operating landfill level, some new approaches will be utilized.
Objective: Design and operate the bioreactor in a manner to control and measure the major inputs and outputs. A major limitation in the data collected from full-scale bioreactor project to date is the inability to capture and measure all inputs and outputs. This is especially true with gas emissions in both aerobic and anaerobic systems. The landfill bioreactor at the NRRL will be equipped with a geomembrane cap to collect gas emissions from the surface. The leachate collection system will be utilized to monitor gas inputs and outputs. Leachate production will be measured on the basis of each individual leachate collection line. All landfill inputs will be measured using state of the art techniques. Thus all major inputs and outputs will be measured to the best of the project team’s ability.
Objective: Evaluate the use of aerobic bioreactor landfill technology and compare the aerobic approach to the use of anaerobic bioreactor technology. As previously stated, the system will be designed in a flexible manner such that it can be operated either aerobically or anaerobically. The impact of each of the technologies will be evaluated by operating some areas of the bioreactor aerobically, while others are operated anaerobically. The impact of these operation schemes on the bioreactor process will be measured through the instrumentation and monitoring described in Tables 3.1 and 3.2.
Objective: Instrument the landfill bioreactor to permit in-situ monitoring of bioreactor activity and to measure previously unmeasured information (e.g. leachate head on the liner). Instrumentation will be installed for in-situ monitoring of landfill parameters. This instrumentation includes transducers for measuring head on the liner, and monitoring probes for measuring waste temperature and moisture content. Additional information on instrumentation is presented in Table 3.1.
Objective: Monitor the bioreactor in a manner that measures the impact of bioreactor activities and to allows the control of the waste treatment process (e.g. leachate and gas composition and generation, waste characteristics, settlement). The landfill will be monitored to measure the impact of bioreactor operations on the treatment of landfilled waste. This will also provide a mechanism to assess and control the waste treatment process. Leachate quality will be routinely measured to address the impact of operation on leachate quality and potential leachate treatment costs. The composition of gaseous emissions will be routinely measured, as will the settlement of the waste mass and the degree of biological stabilization of the solid waste. The parameters measured will be used to control the waste treatment process. For example, temperature and gas concentration will be measured using the monitoring probes as a means to evaluate and control the rate of air injection into a given area of the landfill.
Objective: Collect data through instrumentation, field monitoring, and laboratory analysis that will enable the project team to assess the success of the project, the feasibility of this technology for other sites, and to enable the future design and operation of landfill bioreactors in Florida. The data collected through the instrumentation (Table 3.1) and field/laboratory monitoring (Table 3.2) will be used to assess the success of the project. The rapid stabilization of the landfilled waste will be determined by measuring gas production, landfill settlement, and waste decomposition. Different treatment strategies will be evaluated for relative success in this manner.
Objective: Develop standardized design and operation procedures for this technology. The data collected from the study will be used by the researchers to develop standardized design and operating procedures. This will also include the collection of data to allow the development of engineering models for bioreactor landfill simulation. Design procedures include the design of injection and extraction wells, spacing of such wells, design of leachate collection systems in bioreactor landfills, and the design of a gas collection cap.
Objective: Further define and quantify the true costs and benefits of landfill bioreactors. A major goal of the project will be to quantify the actual costs of bioreactor landfill operation, both aerobic and anaerobic. The costs needed to operate a bioreactor will be determined. The benefits will be quantified to the extent possible. The expected benefits include increased landfill settlement and the resulting gain in landfill capacity. Other benefit issues to be addressed will include the landfill siting minimization and the possibility of a reduction in post-closure care.
Objective: Provide a resource and training ground for students in the State University System, landfill operators, and engineers in Florida. In addition to the students directly involved with the project research, the demonstration project will also an opportunity for all students in the SUS to learn about bioreactor landfill technology. The Center will sponsor a series of meetings specifically for SUS students that include both classroom presentations and visits to the site. The project team will also explore other funding sources for summer student coops working on the project. The information gathered in the project will be disseminated in a manner that will benefit interested landfill operators and engineers. Once the project is established, training courses coordinated by the Center will be held at the landfill site for landfill operators. Training courses will also be provided by the researchers in regard to the design and operating procedures developed as a result of the project. The information gathered in the project will be routinely presented to the solid waste community in Florida, at such forums as technical advisory group meetings and Florida SWANA meetings. All of the information gathered in the project will be made available as part of the project’s web site.
5.0 SCHEDULE AND MILESTONES A timeline of scheduled activities for the design, permitting, construction, and startup of the bioreactor is included in the chart on the following page. A series of milestones are identified throughout the design, permitting, and construction process. During this process at various stages of completion, project meetings will be held for researchers and other team members to review and evaluate the work appropriately. A timeline for the complete bioreactor
project is under development and will be submitted with
the Site Management Plan. It will identify, for each
objective listed in Section 2 of this Operating Plan, a
list of tasks, and the month or period during which they
will be conducted. 6.0 SITE MANAGEMENT PLAN The components of the Site Management Plan are listed in Section 3.3. Information required for developing the site management plan is being gathered. The site management plan will be prepared and submitted to the FDEP within the next two months. One of the principal components of the Site Management Plan is a project safety plan. A project safety plan is needed to ensure the health and safety of project participants, researchers, site operators, and site visitors during their visits to the landfill bioreactor site. The Safety Plan will have components addressing each of the types of visitors mentioned above. It will be developed as part of the Site Management Plan and submitted to the FDEP for inclusion in this Operating Plan. |