NUMERICAL MODELING OF GENERATION AND TRANSPORT OF GAS AND HEAT IN SANITARY LANDFILLS .3. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

A mathematical model for the generation and transport of gas and heat in a sanitary landfill is developed based on earlier work on the Mount ain View Controlled Landfill Project (MVCLP) in California. The presen t model incorporates biokinetic model equations describing the dynamic s of the microbial landfill ecosystem into a multilayer, time-dependen t gas and heat transport and generation models. It is based on the fun damental principles governing the physical, chemical, and microbiologi cal processes in a porous media context such as a sanitary landfill. T he model includes biochemical and temperature feedback loops to simula te the effects of their corresponding parameters on microbiological pr ocesses. The resulting integrated biokinetic, gas, and heat generation and transport model was used to simulate field data from the MVCLP an d to assess the sensitivity of model results to biological parameters. The model can be used to predict the rate and total production of met hane in a landfill. (C) 1997 ISWA.