Experimental study on water holdup of municipal solid waste

Key words: 
• landfill /
• municipal solid waste /
• water holdup /
• dry density

Abstract: Water holdup of municipal solid waste（MSW）is critical important in determining the leachate level and analyzing the stability of landfill. Laboratory tests on water holdup at different pressures were conducted by using a modified high pressure oedometer on three specimens sampled at different depths of a landfill in southern China. The results showed that with the increase of sampling depth and the age of MSW, the degradable degree decreased and the content of humus increased while water holdup of MSW decreased. The dry and wet gravimetric water holdup of the waste decreased with the increase of overburden pressure. When the overburden increased to a certain value, the trend of reduction was slowed down. In general, the volumetric water holdup decreased with the increase of overburden, but for the loose waste, it increased initially and then decreased with the increase of overburden after overburden reached a certain value. Both dry and wet gravimetric water holdup of the waste decreased with the increase of dry density. The method and apparatus of laboratory test of water holdup presented in this paper were reasonable and feasible.