Modeling the effects of hydrological characteristics and design of municipal waste landfill on the leachate rate: a case study of Urmia city

Background and Objective: One of the major challenges facing landfill operation is the pollution caused by leachate infiltration beneath the landfill site. Comprehensive leachate management requires knowledge of production rate and factors affecting it Therefore, in this study, HELP software was used to calculate leachate quantity and analyze input data. Materials and Methods: After designing a landfill by the existing conditions in Urmia city, the quantity of leachate was calculated using HELP software. Then, in different scenarios, the effects of precipitation, Curve number, and removal of the geomembrane layer on leachate production -were investigated. Finally, the impact of similar layer aggregation on the simulation process was discussed. Results: According to the results, 7.67% of precipitation is converted to leachate. NO significant correlation was observed between precipitation and leachate production in a short period of time due to the absorption of rain by landfill layers. However, for the long term, as the absorption capacity was reached leachate produced. With increasing the Curve number from 70 to 90, leachate production decreased by 23%. Also, the removal of geomembrane from the final coating increased the amount of leachate by 78.46%. Furthermore, by replacing a 76cm dense clay layer instead of capping geomembrane layer, the same leachate generation rate was observed. Re- running the software after layer aggregation showed a slight difference in leachate estimation compared to the baseline state. Conclusion: Leachate generation modeling and identifying influential parameters with the aim of HELP software, may be helpful in landfill leachate management prior to its construction.