BIOREACTOR LANDFILLS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A CRITICAL REVIEW

摘要

Landfilling is the most common method for disposing the municipal solid waste, MSW, especially in developing countries. However, the issues pertaining to land acquisition, unhygienic conditions at the landfills and environmental pollution due to intentional/accidental fires are becominga big nuisance to the town planners and populace. In order to overcome these issues, the bioreactor landfill, BLF, wherein degradation of the MSW and generation of landfill gases, LFG, can be accelerated, has been found to be a better MSW management strategy. However, in the recent past, BLFshave been criticized for their inefficiency and questions have been raised on their dispose the MSW. This calls for a critical evaluation of the issues pertaining to the effective functioning of BLFs such as (i) MSW decomposition characteristics, (ii) leachate recirculation system (iii) energygeneration potential, of the LFG, (iv) estimation of the mining time and sustainable applications of the mined residues and (v) rigorous performance monitoring. A review of existing literature has been conducted and it is believed fact finding guidelines related to the design, construction,operation and monitoring of a BLF, particularly in developing countries. Furthermore, based on this exercise the efficacy of BLF could be ameliorated by implementing techniques and/or methods to: (i) amend leachate characteristics for achieving decomposition of the recalcitrant fractions inthe MSW, (ii) facilitate non-invasive and economical monitoring of the decomposition of the MSW, (iii) estimate accurately the time required for stabilization of the MSW and (iv) recover the resource from the mined residues.