THE MODELLING OF CONTAMINANT MIGRATION FROM SANITARY LANDFILLS

The production, migration and reactions of sanitary landfill leachates in porous media are modelled using the Galerkin finite element method as well as the finite difference method. For the modelling of leachate production, rather than input boundary conditions, appropriate source terms are used in the solute transport equation. For leachate organics, expressed as chemcial oxygen demand (COD), anaerobic biodegradation is modelled using Michaelis-Menten substrate utilization and microbial mass production equations. Parameters for the model are developed from laboratory batch studies. Comparisons between the model results and laboratory column breakthrough curves are excellent. The degradation of leachate organics at the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Borden Landfill is analyzed.