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There can be quite a bit of organic material in SWFs that breaks down, although most of that process is completed within ~20 years of being deposited. Modern fa
by pottertheotter 6y ago
There can be quite a bit of organic material in SWFs that breaks down, although most of that process is completed within ~20 years of being deposited. Modern facilities often incorporate electricity generation plants powered by all of the methane produced from the breakdown of organics. Also, a landfill has a bottom liner that is usually much more robust than the top (a couple feet of clay and a thick membrane) plus leaching pipes to carry away leachate. I don't believe the final cap is intended to completely shed water, but it is meant to divert a lot of it from getting into the landfill.
- hinkley 6y agoFrom what I understand you have a synthetic barrier, several feet of clay above it (which holds water but doesn't pass it very fast), then a layer of loose aggregate above it, and soil above that. Gravel over an impervious layer is, for all intents and purposes, a drain. Unless the slopes are all wrong so the water pools in the middle.
- shum1 6y agoI found some videos on youtube that give a more visual explanation of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwNWjBxGadA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwNWjBxGadA
- hinkley 6y agoIt's worth noting that the business model for this group is to treat a landfill a little differently to boost methane production. But in the end they're still keeping the leachate on site, and some of the water escapes as vapor (they dewater the methane before burning it).