Instrumentation and Process

Control
 Topics Covered

 Critical Monitoring
 Leachate collection system performance
 Moisture measurement
 In-place specific weight
 Critical Monitoring - Gas

 Production Rate
 Gas Composition (methane, carbon dioxide,
oxygen)
 Critical Monitoring - Leachate

 Head on liner
 Quantity
 COD, BOD
 Temperature
 pH
 VOA
 Critical Monitoring - Waste

 Temperature
 Settlement
 Specific weight
 Volatile solids
 Biochemical Methane Potential
 Moisture Content
 pH
 Instrumentation to be Discussed

 In situ temperature measurement,

 Leachate collection system performance
assessment,
 In situ moisture content measurement, and
 Waste specific weight measurement.
 Temperature Measurement

 In anaerobic bioreactors, temperature is controlled

by the introduction of moisture.
 In aerobic bioreactors temperature is controlled by
moisture content and airflow.
 High temperatures have been associated with
spontaneous combustion and landfill fires.
 Temperature does not significantly impact the
interface shear strength geomembranes
 Technologies

 Thermocouples
 Thermistors
 Liquid expansion
 Resistance detectors
 Infrared radiators
 Bimetallic thermometers
 Thermocouples

Photo Courtesy Burns Engineering

 Thermocouples

 Technology most frequently applied to landfills

 Thermocouples are pairs of dissimilar metal wires
joined at one end.
 Thermocouples tend to be more rugged and less
expensive than thermistors, however they are
slightly less accurate.
 Type J thermocouples are most commonly used in
landfills.
 Damage to the sensor wiring cable is one of the
most common causes of sensor failure.
 Thermocouple profile well near
anchor trench

0
New River Regional Landfill
Temperature Profiles

10

20

Depth from Top of Landfill (ft)

30

40

50

TP3 TP2

60
TP4 TP1

TP4 TP5

70
80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 105.0 110.0 115.0 120.0 125.0 130.0

Temperature (degrees F)

Example of T-Profile Well Results

Thermistors
 Thermistors

 Measure temperature as a function of the change in

electrical resistance of materials
 Composed of inexpensive semiconductor materials.
 They are accurate over a smaller range than
thermocouples,
 They are quite stable and accurate over temperature
ranges expected in bioreactor landfills.
 Process Control –
Temperatrue
Measure
Temperature

Temperature may be below optimum.

T < 140 °F Investigate and revise operations as
desired. Not a safety hazard.
 Temperature may be below optimum.
T < 140 °F Investigate and revise operations as
desired. Not a safety hazard.

Optimum conditions. Operate and

T > 140 °F monitor as scheduled.
T < 160 °F
 Possible concern. Check gas
concentrations.
If anaerobic → Check moisture content
monitors. Add leachate or other moisture
T > 160 °F If aerobic → Reduce air flow rate. Track
T < 170 °F the rate of temperature increase of this area.
If a rate of 1°F per day (weekly average) is
exceeded, stop air injection and add
leachate/water.

Condition of concern. Stop air

T > 170 °F injection. Add leachate or other
moisture.
Leachate Collection System
Performance
Performance Monitoring
 Sump Measurements

 Head losses must be calculated with little

knowledge of the condition of piping and
drainage layers.
 Without an internal means of measuring
hydraulic parameters the actual head on the
liner cannot be determined easily.
 Piezometers

 Limited measurement area,

 May put the liner at risk,
 May clog,
 May interfere with landfill operation, and
 Vertical wells may be impacted by gas
production
 Pressure Transducers

 Use a calibrated strain gage mounted on a flexible,

silicon diaphragm protected by a membrane.
 Transducers used to measure absolute pressure
require a vent tube be run with the wiring cable.
 Landfill applications require either high-grade
stainless steel or titanium materials to prevent
corrosion
 Reference measurements of landfill gas pressures
required
Monitoring System Installation
Monitoring System Installation
 Head on the Liner Measurements –
New River Regional Landfill

LCS Surface

Drainage
Layer

Geomembrane

Geofabric Pressure Transducer

 10

Liquid Depth, in.

6

Cell 2 Head on Liner

 1746800

1746750

1746700
Head on Liner
1746650
Experiment
Northing

1746600 Slope

Leachate Collection
pipe
1746550

624400 624450 624500

Easting
 NRRL Cell 3
404950

Slope
404900 Slope

404850
Northing

Slope

404800
Central Leachate
Collection Point

404750

269410 269415 Easting 269425 269430

 6 6
Rainfall vs. Time Avg. Head on Liner vs. Time

Avg. Head on Liner (inch)

5 HELP Model 5
Rainfall (inch)

4 4

3 3
o

2 2

1 1

0 0
03-Jul 03-Aug 03-Sep 04-Oct 04-Nov 05-Dec 06-Jan 06-Feb 12-Mar 16-Apr 17-May
Time (days)
 Failure Causes

 Lightning strike at data station

 Overburden pressure due to waste placed above
sensors
 Marine grease applied to sensors to prohibit
biological growth from occurring inside of the
sensor nose cone
 Inability to isolate from influence by atmospheric
pressure changes
 Process Control – Head on the
Liner
 Maintain a properly designed leachate
collection system, store or dispose of
leachate outside of the landfill,
 Remove leachate at sufficient rates
 Adjust moisture addition rates
 Measurement of Moisture

 Water balance
 Collect waste samples and measure
gravimetrically
 In situ methods
 Water Balance
In

 Track moisture
into and out of
landfill Storage

Leachate
Cum Recirculation
Vol
Out
Leachate
Collected

Time
 Collection of Waste Samples

 Great data
 Expensive
 Infrequent
 In Situ Moisture Measurement

 Time domain reflectometry,

 Time domain transmissometry
 Neutron density
 Electrical conductivity
 Time Domain Reflectometry

 TDR theory states that

the time for a
transmitted
electromagnetic pulse
to be reflected is
dependent on the
dielectric constant of
the medium.
 Time Domain Reflectometry

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Provides an in situ  Is affected by changes
method of moisture in specific
determination. conductivity.
 The technology is non-  Heterogeneity of
toxic and harmless. landfills may lead to
 Unaffected by organic erroneous readings.
carbon content  Must be calibrated to
changes. solid waste matrix
 Time Domain
Transmissometry
 measures the time that
a fast pulse takes to
travel along a section
of transmission line
 time measured is a one-
way propagation time
TDR Device Used
in Florida
 Neutron Probe

 Instrument emits
neutrons which are
thermalized in
proportion to moisture
content.
Neutron Probe

 Hydroprobe, the
electronic scaler of a
neutron probe
assembly
Neutron Probe
Access
Tube
Housing

Access
Tube
 Neutron Probe Advantages and
Disadvantages
Advantages: Disadvantages
 Average moisture contents  Cannot measure absolute
over depths moisture content
 Readings are related  safety hazards
directly to soil moisture
 Non-destructive moisture  The presence of non-water
measurements hydrogen and changes in
 It has a large radius of density may reduce the
influence between 150 mm accuracy
in wet soil and 700 mm in
dry soil
 Electrical Resistance

 This technology is
based on the principle
that the moisture of a
medium can be
determined from the
value of the measured
electrical resistance.
 Electrical Resistance

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Sensors are  Gypsum sensors suffer
inexpensive. from hysteresis unless
complete wetting is
 The technology is non- achieved before each
hazardous permitting in drying cycle.
situ monitoring of  Each sensor may
moisture content. require its own
individual calibration.
Resistivity Probe For Moisture
Measurements
 Moisture Distribution
Higher
05/30/03 10/01/03 11/01/03 moisture

70

15 ft 65

60

30 ft
50

40

50 ft
30

Lower
Moisture content obtained from moisture
resistance values
 Response of MTG
1000
L6E-Middle
Resistance (KOHMS)

100 L6E-Lower
L6E-Upper
10

0.1 Start of Leachate

Recirculation

0.01

0.001
100 150 200 250 300 350
Days

Day 1 = 01/01/03
Moisture content from sensors

(%) Gravimetric Moisture Content

80

70 Start of leachate
recirculation
60

50

40

30
TDR 11
20 MI5-Middle

150 200 250 300

Days
 New Moisture Content
Technologies
 Gas tracer method
 Fiber optics
 Geophysical, noninvasive techniques
 electrical sounding,
 electrical 2-D imaging,
 electromagnetic mapping, and
 radar profiling
 Process Control – Moisture
Content
 Evaluate rate of moisture addition
 Evaluate compaction
 Evaluate alternative moisture introduction
techniques
 Identify dry areas of the landfill requiring
longer time to stability
 Remaining Questions – In Situ
Moisture Content Measurement
 How long will they work?
 Once wetted, do they stay wet?
 Does installation create preferential flow paths?
 Can true moisture content be measured, or only
relative moisture content?
 Are they economical?
 Can wireless measurement be implemented?
In-Place Specific Weight
Settlement Plates
Global
Positioning
System
Roctest Total Pressure Cell
Total Pressure Cell Installation
 Pressure Measurements Obtained
Using the Total Pressure Cell
Average measured specific weights vary between 300-
1700 lb/ft3
1200 35

1100 PSF
Waste Height
30
1000

900
25
800

700 20

Height (ft)
PSF

600

500 15

400
10
300

200
5

100

0 0
7/18/00 10/26/00 2/3/01 5/14/01 8/22/01 11/30/01 3/10/02 6/18/02 9/26/02 1/4/03 4/14/03 7/23/03 10/31/03 2/8/04 5/18/04

time (days)
 Process Control Using Total
Pressure Cells/Surface Surveys
 Evaluate in-place specific weight
 Evaluate stresses on the liner and leachate
collection system