title: Spatial and temporal characteristics of elevated temperatures in municipal solid waste landfills.
abstract: Elevated temperatures in waste containment facilities can pose health, environmental, and safety risks because they generate toxic gases, pressures, leachate, and heat. In particular, MSW landfills undergo changes in behavior that typically follow a progression of indicators, e.g., elevated temperatures, changes in gas composition, elevated gas pressures, increased leachate migration, slope movement, and unusual and rapid surface settlement. This paper presents two MSW landfill case studies that show the spatial and time-lapse movements of these indicators and identify four zones that illustrate the transition of normal MSW decomposition to the region of elevated temperatures. The spatial zones are gas front, temperature front, and smoldering front. The gas wellhead temperature and the ratio of CH4to CO2are used to delineate the boundaries between normal MSW decomposition, gas front, and temperature front. The ratio of CH4to CO2and carbon monoxide concentrations along with settlement strain rates and subsurface temperatures are used to delineate the smoldering front. In addition, downhole temperatures can be used to estimate the rate of movement of elevated temperatures, which is important for isolating and containing the elevated temperature in a timely manner.
authors.affiliation: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, 3316N Patrick Taylor Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, United States. Electronic address: njafari@lsu.edu.
authors.forename: Navid H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.affiliation: Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, United States. Electronic address: tstark@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.affiliation: El Dorado Hills Fire Department and Civil Engineer, Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA, United States. Electronic address: ltfire88@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thalhamer
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D062611:Solid Waste; D013696:Temperature; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D062611:Solid Waste; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Fire; Landfill; Municipal solid waste; Rapid oxidation; Smoldering combustion; Temperature