Leachate Collection System

* Purpose: (1) to collect leachate for treatment or

alternative disposal and (2) to reduce the depths of
leachate buildup over the low-permeability liner.
Two main collection systems:
Design of Leachate 1. Underdrain system: constructed prior to landfilling
Collection System and consists of a drainage system that remove the
leachate from the base of the fill.
2. Peripheral system: can be installed after
landfilling, constructed around the edge of the
disposal area, and used to control leachate seeps
through the face of the landfill.

Schematic of Various Leachate

Discharge Pathways
Infiltration

Optional
toe drain
Leachate Toe
seep seepage
through
face
Based on the US Federal regulations, (a) the landfill based floor
Leachate must be graded a minimum slope of 2% in directions
collection perpendicular to leachate collection pipes to promote drainage
Toe tiles and prevent ponding above the liner. (b) The leachate collection
seepage Leachate to pipes should be laid on a slope of 1% or more in a direction to
groundwater
intercept liquid flow.
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Leachate Collection System Layouts Leachate Removal System

Cleanout port Pipe passed through

the side slope of landfill

pipe

Pipes laid along the side slope

and leachate removed with a pump
to leachate holding tank
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Leachate Holding Tank

(Collection Sump)

Sideslope Riser Pipes and Cleanout Port

The tank size should be large enough to hold leachate
for 3-4 days during the peak leachate production
season. 7 8
 Leachate Collection Trenches
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Drainage Layer Design
(1) To ensure that the soil particles within the
overlying protective soil layer will not
significantly penetrate into the drainage layer.
(D15 of the drain / D85 of the overlying soil
particles) ≤ 4 to 5.
(2) To ensure that the hydraulic conductivity of
the drainage layer will be significantly greater
than that of the overlying protective soil layer.
(D15 of the drain / D15 of the overlying soil
particles) ≥ 4 to 5.
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Leachate Collection Trenches
• Leachate collection pipes are sometimes installed in
gravel-filled trenches. The trenches (not the pipe)
should be lined with a geotextile to minimize entry of
fines from the clay liner into the trench and eventually
into the leachate collection pipes.
* K of drainage layer: min. 10-3 cm/sec; 10-2 cm/sec
desirable.
* Gravel should be washed to remove fines; no
limestone-based aggregate.
* Gravel-filled trench: to distribute the load of
compaction machinery, provide more protection for
the pipe against crushing, and provide a higher
hydraulic capacity to transport the leachate.
Roles of Each Component
* Protective Layer: a permeable layer to prevent solid
waste from damaging and clogging the leachate drainage
layer.
* Filter layer: sand filter or geotextile filter; placed on the
top of the drainage layer to reduce the potential migration
of fines into the drainage layer.
* Drainage layer: a high permeability drainage layer to
laterally drain the leachate to the collection pipes; at least
30 cm thick with a min. K of 10-3 cm/sec.
* Barrier layer: a very low-permeability synthetic or
natural soil liner to restrict and control the rate of vertical
downward flow of leachate.
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 Pipe Design Pipe Design-cont.
* Pipe sizing and type: at least 15 cm (6 in.) Required flow rate:
diameter; preferably 30 cm to reduce the effects
of silting and to facilitate inspection and
cleaning; PVC or HDPE.
* Pipe slope: 2% if practical but not < 1%.
* Collection pipe perforations: at 2 and 10
o’clock positions. Determine the pipe size to meet the criterion that the
calculated flow rate from Manning’s eqn. must be greater
than or equal to the required flow rate.

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Leachate Collection Pipe

Diameter: 6" ~ 12"

http://www.ads-pipe.com/markets/waste.html
Length: 20 ft
Drainage
Couplers and
Fittings

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 Leachate Collection Pipes Leachate Height

• Why? To control the height of leachate

* If the leachate mound is too high, it will

penetrate back to the refuse resulting in
increase in the hydraulic gradient and
consequently increase in leachate seepage.
Diameter: 6" ~ 12"
Length: 20 ft

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Methods for Estimating Moore’s 1980 Method

Maximum Liquid Head
Four methods are currently used to calculate the 1 1

ymax = L ⋅ (r / k ) 2 [(k ⋅ S 2 / r ) + 1 − (k ⋅ S / r )(S 2 + r / k ) ]

2
maximum leachate head over the landfill liner
or the maximum saturated depth in the final ymax = maximum liquid head on the
landfill barrier, in. or mm;
cover system. L = horizontal drainage distance, in. or
mm;
r = inflow rate (i.e., rate of vertical inflow
to the drainage layer per unit
♦ Moore’s 1980 Method horizontal area), in./day or mm/sec;
♦ Moore’s 1983 Method k = hydraulic conductivity of the drainage
layer, in./day or mm/sec;
♦ Giroud’s 1992 Method S = slope of the drainage layer, S = tanα;
♦ McEnroe’s 1993 Method and
α = slope angle of drainage layer,
measured from horizontal, degrees.

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 Moore’s 1983 Method Giroud’s 1992 Method
1 1
y max = L ⋅ [( r / k + S 2 ) 2
− S] ymax = j ⋅ L ⋅[(4⋅ r / k + S 2 ) 2 − S] /(2⋅ cosα)

ymax = maximum liquid head on the landfill liner, in. or mm;
L = horizontal drainage distance, in. or mm;
r = inflow rate, in./day or mm/sec;
k = hydraulic conductivity of the drainage layer, in./day or
mm/sec;
S = slope of the drainage layer, S = tanα; and
α = slope angle of drainage layer, measured from horizontal,
degrees.
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A parameter j in the formula can be calculated as:
5
j = 1 − 0.12 ⋅ exp{−[log(1.6 ⋅ r / k / S 2 ) 8 ]2 }
ymax = maximum liquid head on the landfill liner, in. or mm;
L = horizontal drainage distance, in. or mm;
r = inflow rate, in./day or mm/sec;
k = hydraulic conductivity of the drainage layer, in./day or
mm/sec;
S = slope of the drainage layer, S = tanα; and
α = slope angle of drainage layer, measured from horizontal,
degrees.
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McEnroe’s 1993 Method

McEnroe’s 1993 Method
(cont.)
R = r /( k ⋅ sin 2 α )
1
A = (1 − 4 ⋅ R ) 2 If R > 1/4 (Figure 8.13),
1
B = ( 4 ⋅ R − 1) 2 1
ymax = L ⋅ S ⋅ (R − R ⋅ S + R2 ⋅ S 2 ) 2 ⋅ exp{(1/ B) ⋅ tan−1[(2 ⋅ R ⋅ S −1) / B]
If R < 1/4 (Figure 8.13), − (1/ B) ⋅ tan−1[(2 ⋅ R −1) / B]}
1
ymax = L ⋅ S ⋅ (R − R ⋅ S + R2 ⋅ S 2 ) 2 ⋅{[(1− A − 2 ⋅ R)(1+ A − 2 ⋅ R ⋅ S )] ymax = maximum liquid head on the landfill liner, in. or mm;
1 L = horizontal drainage distance, in. or mm;
/[(1+ A − 2 ⋅ R)(1− A − 2 ⋅ R ⋅ S )]} (2 A) r = inflow rate, in./day or mm/sec;
If R = 1/4 (Figure 8.13), k = hydraulic conductivity of the drainage layer, in./day or
mm/sec;
ymax = L ⋅ S ⋅ R ⋅ (1 − 2 ⋅ R ⋅ S ) /(1 − 2 ⋅ R) ⋅ exp{2 ⋅ R ⋅ (S −1) S = slope of the drainage layer, S = tanα; and
/[(1 − 2 ⋅ R ⋅ S )(1 − 2 ⋅ R)]} α = slope angle of drainage layer, measured from horizontal,
degrees.
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 Example

A landfill is constructed on a pipe slope of 1% (i.e., S2) and a

bottom liner grade perpendicular to the pipe of 2% (i.e., S1). The
horizontal distance from upstream to pipe is 100 ft (30 m). The
granular soil drainage layer is 24 inches (0.6 m) thick. The
hydraulic conductivity of the drainage material is 0.01 cm/sec.
The amount of leachate inflow rate is estimated to be 3,000
gallons/acre/day (1,024 mm/year). Estimate the maximum
leachate head over the primary liner.
Solution:
It can be seen from the graph that the
landfill base grade varies with change
of x. The landfill base grade, S(x),
can be expressed as follows:
S(x) = m/n
where
m = a+ c = S1·b + S2 ·x
pipe n = (b2 + x2)0.5
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 Solutions of the Example

Moore’s 1980 method, ymax = 33.6 cm

Moore’s 1983 method, ymax = 21.6 cm

Giroud’s 1992 method, ymax = 30.0 cm

McEnroe’s 1993 method, ymax = 30.0 cm

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