Temperature Characteristics of Waste Layer at Inert Waste Landfill

This manuscript focuses on temperature as the standard parameter for landfill closure. In order to grasp the temperature characteristics of an inert waste landfill site, the temperature of the waste layers over a 16-year time period were summarized. The waste layer temperatures may rise to under 40 degrees Celsius immediately after dumping. The temperature gradually decreased at a relatively stable temperature gradient after landfill completion, and it tended to converge at around 25 degrees Celsius after two years. The temperature of the waste layer was influenced by the degradation of organic waste, the heat accumulation in the waste layer, and the heat transfer from outside temperatures and rainwater percolation. However, because the amount of organic matter in the inert waste landfill is small, any influences on temperature transfer to the waste layer tend to finish in a short amount of time. Therefore, it was observed that the temperature of the waste layer below a depth of 10m is influenced by many factors, but no influence was observed in the waster layer above a 30m depth. From these results, we can conclude that after a period of two years, inert waste landfill sites can generally meet the temperature (less than surrounding underground temperature plus 20 degrees Celsius) standard for landfill closure.