INVESTIGATION OF LANDFILL LEACHATE IMPACT ON SURROUNDING SOIL

INTRODUCTION

At present, deposition of municipal and industrial wastes in landfills is considered as the

most wide spread and safe method for waste disposal solid wastes. But the scarcity of the available
landfill sites and the large amount of generated leachate from these sites are the major problems
of municipal solid waste disposal with landfilling method.

A landfill is designed to inhibit degradation of waste to protect the environment from

harmful contamination. Sanitary landfill is the scientific dumping of municipal solid waste due to
which maturity of the waste material is achieved faster. Generation of leachate from sanitary
landfill is a complex combination of physical, chemical and biological processes whereby waste
age has effect to performance of landfill that generate leachate. The major potential environmental
impacts related to solid waste landfill leachate are pollution of surface water and ground water.
The risk of ground water pollution is probably the most severe environmental impact from landfills
because historically most landfills were built without engineered liners and leachate collection and
treatment systems. Generally, it is accepted that landfills undergo at least four phases of
decompositions: (a) an initial aerobic phase, (b) an anaerobic acid phase, (c) an initial
methanogenic phase, (d) a stable methanogenic phase. Once the refuse is very well decomposed,
the rate of oxygen diffusion into the landfill may exceed the rate of microbial oxygen depletion.
Thus, over time the anaerobic landfill is hypothesized to become an aerobic ecosystem. The
leachate characteristics such as pH, BOD 3,COD, ammonia, microorganisms, heavy metals and
phosphate are varied from site to site and seasonally at each site. Leachate contains high
concentration of nutrients. Its release into natural ecosystems can cause eutrophication and changes
in the natural biodiversity.

This paper presents the results of leachate composition and characteristics such as pH,
BOD,3 COD, heavy metals of a municipal solid waste (MSW). One sample was collected from the
Kuwait landfill area itself and another sample from a surface pond near the same landfill area
located in Kuwait The concentration of magnesium is also measured as it is one nutrient for the
growth of algae.

Removal of landfill contaminants requires significant financial investment, as well as

echnologies that are not currently used by organizations in Kuwait (Al-Muzaini et al. 1995). It has
been identified that no proper monitoring programs are implemented by Kuwait, and therefore the
natural soil and subsurface environments contain major health hazards and threats to the
environment. It is argued that the landfill sites currently used for all types of waste by the Kuwait

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municipality do not follow the minimum environmental standards and conditions in terms of
proper site selection, design and management. When combined with the aforementioned low
absorption capacity and high infiltration rate of the natural soil, the increasing generation of waste
materials and lack of proper leachate management in Kuwait gives rise to negative physical and
chemical characteristics in the soil

The research focusing on these issues is rare, so in order to come up with adequate safety
precaution and improved standards and practices, it is vital that analysis of the effects of
contaminated leachate on the physical and chemical properties of the natural soil in Kuwait takes
place.

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Literature Review

Waste is the direct consequence of many types of human activity, and has been a burden
to deal with across the world and throughout history. Landfilling has emerged as the simplest and
most economical method of disposing with this waste.

Waste is broadly classified into three main types; solid, liquid, and gas. Gaseous wastes
are those that dissipate in the atmosphere, and can either be treated or untreated, depending on the
composition of the gas and the regulations of the country where it is disposed. Liquid wastes are
those that are disposed of into rivers or sewers, and are treated before disposal, depending on the
legislation (Geismar 2014).

In many parts of the world however, problems exist with the creation and implementation
of this kind of legislation, and unmanaged liquid waste is disposed of into different bodies of water
or allowed to penetrate into the ground, polluting water bodies and giving rise to many other
problems (Milosevic 2012).

The disposal of waste is seen as a major problem in most of the developing countries, with
most waste being disposed of into landfill. This also true for solid waste in many developed
nations, however, as in 1999, the main method of waste disposal in Western Europe was landfill.
Despite policies to promote reuse and reduction of waste within the European Union, more than
half of its member states dispose of 75% of their waste through landfill (Thiruvenkatachari et al.
2008), with Ireland disposing of 92% this way. While the proportion of waste that is landfilled is
expected to decrease, the actual volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) is increasing
significantly, at a rate of 3% per year for many developed nations, creating an ongoing waste
disposal and groundwater pollution problem (Thomsenet al. 2012).

Modern landfills use liners made of plastic and other non-porous materials to stop the
pollution from garbage leaking into the soil. Many landfills are located in areas with deposits of
clay and other natural resources, which act as a liner. A system of drainage pipes is installed by
the landfill operators to direct leachate, or liquid waste, into nearby wells and ponds where these
liquid wastes are tested and treated

(Milosevic 2012). After a landfill is full, the ground water around these landfills is quality
tested for many years. In order to ensure safety, regulations are developed by the Environmental

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Protection Agency (EPA), which help in governing the operations of landfill sites and prevent the
leakage of leachate and methane (Gallas et al. 2011).

A landfill is similar to an airtight storage container in that garbage does not break down
very easily, as can be seen by the slow break down rates of biodegradables such as paper or grass
clippings. Once classified as closed, landfill sites are often transformed into parks, ski slopes and
gold coursed, however they are never built upon due to the impact of settling.
Newer types of landfill have been developed, such as bioreactors which make use of
leachate air to encourage biodegrading inside the landfill. Much more waste can be stored in
bioreactors than in traditional landfills, and Bella et al.(2011) reported that the methane gase
produced by the breakdown of organic waste in the bioreactor can be used as an energy source.
This methane has similar properties to natural gas, so can be used as fuel, or used to generate
electricity by burning.

Previous research has shown that around 14% of all waste is burned, 31% is recycled, and
55% is stored in landfill.
Recycling is recommended by the EPA to save natural resources and protect the
environment from pollution. Recycling also helps in decreasing the need for landfill.

Which in turn lessens the problems created by waste management. Recycling can be
encouraged by placing bins in the home and calling for a national reduction in the disposal of waste
through the garbage system, as well as through legislation. It has been shown that if proper national
legislation is adopted, recycling can significantly reduce waste and environmental pollution (Bella
et al. 2011).

Certain guidelines for the disposal of dangerous and household waste have been laid out
by the government-sponsored hazardous waste disposal facility. The specified waste materials
include chemicals, fertilizers, medicines, insect killers and suppliers of automotive and such other
materials. These waste materials must be disposed of according to the instructions set out by
Europe Water Framework Directive, as otherwise pollution can occur (Thomsen et al. 2012).

Geismar (2014) reported that the harmful effects of waste on the environment can be
avoided by storing unwanted waste in various disposal facilities. Rather than dumping local waste
in holes and pits – which are typically unlined and offer no protection to the groundwater supply -
it can be dealt with in specialist facilities where its spread and treatment can be regulated, and its

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impact on the environment reduced. To ensure this, various policies and agencies must be created
in developing countries.

Many aspects of waste management have the potential to pollute or damage the
environment, including the collection, storage, treatment, transport, and disposal of waste.
Unmanaged groundwater also has the potential to pollute the environment, as the leachate
migration that takes place at landfill sites is hard to control, and may end up contaminating the
groundwater and causing wider problems. Therefore, adequately managing the leachate and
groundwater is vital in mitigating damage to the environment (Gallas et al. 2011).

Milosevic (2012) considered that human wastes can be identified as wastes that are
produced by the human use of different non-toxic substances such as paper and food, but also
waste related to toxic substances such as batteries, paint, healthcare waste, asbestos, and sewage
sludge. Solid wastes can be classified into the broad categories of commercial and non-dangerous
industrial wastes, household waste, construction and demolition waste, toxic industrial waste,
human and animal waste, and waste related to healthcare.

2.1 Sanitory landfill

Sanitary landfills make use of liner clay so that trash can be separated from the environment
(Milosevic 2012). Sanitary landfills are used in the areas where it is a major requirement that
discarded waste must be isolated from the environment until it is confirmed that the area is safe.
The waste is considered safe when it is completely degraded; chemically, physically and
biologically (Diamantis 2013). Modern technology is used in sanitary landfills to prevent the
leakage of dangerous substances. In sanitary landfills, two main types of methods are used (Bella
et al. 2011). These are the trench method and the area method, with the trench method being
considered more appropriate in areas of low waste. Both methods make us of the cell principle,
using soil to cover compacted waste. (Thomsen et al. 2012). Both methods are illustrated in Figure
2.1.

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Figure 2.1: Sanitary Landfill

2.2 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfills

This type of landfill uses a synthetic plastic lining to isolate waste from the surrounding
environment, and is contains household garbage collected and managed by the local and state
governments (Geismar 2014). The allowed contents of MSW sites have been specified by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with materials such as paints, chemicals, batteries,
cleaners, motor oil, and pesticides being banned (Al-Jarallah & Aleisa 2014). Some household
appliances are safe for disposal in an MSW site, but dangerous wastes such as bulk liquids or
wastes that have free liquids, yard waste and scrap tires are not (Thomsen et al. 2012).

2.3 Construction and Demolition Waste Landfills

Construction and demolition are used to dispose of materials used in the construction,
renovation, and demolition of roads, bridges and buildings. These wastes mostly include gypsum,
wood, asphalt, bricks, soil rock, glass, concrete, trees, and other building components (Geismar
2014). These contribute to pollution of the environment and when burned can emit toxic gases. It
is essential for Construction and Demolition wastes to meet the operating, siting, design and
closure and postclosure requirements. They are even prohibited from accepting debris that is
minced (Milosevic 2012). The best way to avoid these wastes is to keep proper estimate of the raw
materials that are needed for construction projects. Recycling these types of wastes does not only
help in saving money but also helps reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills (Thomsen
et al. 2012).

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Landfill leachate

3.1 Landfill Leachate Generation

Leachate is created by liquid percolating through waste, with the chemical composition of
the waste and the biochemical processes within it playing a role. As the liquid migrates through
the waste, it encounters pathogenic micro-organisms and extracts solutes and suspended solids
from the waste, thus becoming contaminated (Christensen 2001). Increased levels of leachate
occur with increased precipitation, such as during the wetter seasons (Chiang 1995). The level of
contamination in the Leachate is influenced by the type of waste it moves through, and the level
of biodegradation of the waste. Leachate from biodegradable waste may hold a significant quantity
of natural substances, including alkali nitrogen and chlorinated natural and inorganic salts. All
these substances are poisonous to a number of organic entities, particularly to sea life, and can
result in harm to human health (Renou 2008).

Atmospheric conditions such as rain and snow greatly impacts leachate creation (Frost
1977). Within the landfill site itself surface spillover can affect leachate quantity, as can
groundwater penetration if the site is constructed below the water table. Besides precipitation and
atmospheric conditions, the water content and level of compaction can affect leachate creation.
Less compaction can give rise to more leachate due to the reduced penetration rate (Deng 2006).

As water travels through the waste, it collects contaminants in a few different ways.
Contaminants could be absorbed into the water by disintegration or suspension (Lin 2000).
As natural materials in the waste disintegrate and decompose due to biotic activity, metabolic
intermediates and by-products can be absorbed. Moreover, Li (1999) noticed that these byproducts
can lead to metals being dissolved due to the lowered pH (Li 1999).

3.2 Landfill leachate composition

The composition of leachate is dependent on the location and conditions of the landfill,
including the type of waste stored and how old the landfill is. Therefore, while generalizations can
be made about normal waste and leachate, each leachate should be considered as distinct

Recent studies have indicated that landfill leachate holds a higher toxin load than crude
sewerage. Christensen et al. (2001) created a rundown of the biogeochemistry of Leachate plumes

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produced by city, business and industrial waste masses (Chiang 1995). A good understanding of
leachate is required understand the nature of leachate plumes.

Al-Salem (2009) reported there are four groups of pollutants likely to be found in landfill
leachate;

 Dissolved organic matter including methane, measured by COD and TOC

 Heavy metals

 Particular organic compounds

 Inorganic compounds

The natural substances found in Leachate are measured through analysis of parameters
such as COD, BOD and TOC. The dissolved natural carbon and inorganic constituents are
generally calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, alkali, iron, manganese, chloride, sulfate, and
bicarbonate (Christensen 1994).

The extent of these constituents varies profoundly between one landfill to another, with
average sulfate fixations running from 8 to 7750Mg/l, iron from 3 to 5500Mg/l, chloride from 150
to 4500 Mg/l and arsenic from 0.01 to 1Mg/l (Christensen 1994).

3.3 Landfill Leachate Migration

Leachate migration is also influenced by the way in which waste is stored. Compacted
waste has reduced permeability, but the layering of waste and topsoil in the site can create stream
ways through which leachate can flow (Reinhard 1984).

It was discovered by Christensen (2001) the length of time that rainwater can remain in a
landfill site varies from a couple of days to a few years. This is reflected in the transitory nature
of Leachate "springs", which can show up in wet seasons but vanish in dry seasons, leaving stained
soil. Because of this, assessments of leachate generation must focus periods towards the end of
wet seasons or after high periods of precipitation.

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Transport of contaminated leachate through the landfill to the groundwater and surface
water happens through two main methods: advection and hydrodynamic dispersion. Advection is
the mass of dissolved contaminant that is transported with the flow of groundwater (Frost 1977).
Thus, understanding of the groundwater stream directs the advection, whose rate and bearing relies
upon subsurface topography, geography, extraction wells, porosity and pressure driven
conductivity. Darcy's law can describe the average linear speed of advection migration: the
advective transport (Darcy's drainage speed) and mass flux are described by a 3-D stream by
expecting the solute to moves with the normal and adventive stream (Christensen 1994).

Dispersion is the flow of Leachate created by the mixing of liquids and the variability in
the substance and physical properties of the environment (Christensen 1994). Hydrodynamic
dispersion is the procedure of mechanical mixing and atomic dispersion which is impacted by
physical parameters, e.g hydraulic conductivity and porosity, that describe the penetrability of the
medium and therefor impact the speed of the solute (Li 1999).

One of the fate mechanism that causes hindrance on account of sorption, or increased
contaminant transport on account of desorption in groundwater streams, is sorption
(assimilation/adsorption or desorption) of contaminants onto or out of solid particles, e.g
residue (Reinhard 1984). In water treatment frameworks, contaminants may not be caught due to
sorption. The rate at which this occurs needs to be ascertained in order to assess the effectiveness
of the treatment and the real mass of contaminant present (Lin 2000).
Sorption may happen through particle trade; however, natural contaminants are not
adsorbed by particle trade, but rather by Van der Waals force and hydrophobic holding (Deng
2006). Sorption may be shown as being in equilibrium utilizing a balance isotherm model, or a
dynamic sorption model may be required if equilibrium is not reached (Christensen 2001).
However , J.Conroy (1993) observed that the metals may be bound to solids through cation
exchange, complex reactions, precipitation, or sorption. Retardation of metals will be essentially
influenced by pH, as this parameter controls the structure in which the metals will exist (Lopez
2004).

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Impact of leachate on Soil

4.1 Soil Contamination

Soil contamination is a result of either solid or liquid hazardous substances mixing with
the naturally occurring soil (Ismail et al. 2008). Leachate contamination may lead to significant
effects on the behaviour of soils due to chemical reactions between the soil mineral particles and
the contaminant (Sunil et al. 2009).

Leachate contaminated soils in Kuwait are a result of a lack of awareness of environmental

standards of selection, design, and management at the landfill sites. These sites are often selected
at lower ground locations that have previously been used as sand and gravel quarries, due to the
leveling of the ground and the normal soil surface. There sites are not carefully selected using
geological or environmental surveys, and the random land filling technique is often used without
application of waste separation techniques. The main disposal system commonly used in the state
of Kuwait is land filling (Al-Fares et al. 2009).

Al-Humoud (2001) revealed that household wastes make up 50% of the municipal solid
waste from the various residential districts in the Kuwait, followed by paper at 20.6%, then plastic
at 12.6%, and others components such as metals, glass, and textiles at 16%. The Kuwait
municipality (2009) reported that the municipal solid waste reached 552,991 tons per year.

Similarly, the report by Koushki (2004) revealed that 50% of the municipal solid waste
from the various residential districts in the Kuwait is the household wastes than 21% paper, 13%
plastic, 6% glass, and 10% metal respectively.

Al-Yaqout and Hamoda (2003) studied the chemical characteristics of the Al-Qurain
landfill leachate. The results showed high organic matter and heavy metal concentrations such as
TDS at about 9900Mg/l, COD at 8000Mg/l, Mg around 268Mg/l, Cu at 122Mg/l, and Zn at
4.8Mg/l. Similarly, Al-Muzaini (2006) reported that the leachate of Al-Qurain landfill site
produced high amount of hazardous and harmful contaminated leachate with pH value reaching
9.4.

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4.2 Consistency Limits

Attom and Al-Sharif (1998) attributed the reduction in the plasticity index (PI) of clayey
and silty sands to the addition of non-plastic material to the soil, with the non-plastic material
reducing the plasticity index of the new mixture. The increase in liquid limit (LL) and plastic
limit (PL) of contaminated clayey soils are mainly attributed to the increase in the double layer
thickness of clay minerals (Shah et al. 2003). In general, contaminants may alter the mechanics
of the consistency limits test when used for contaminated soils. The consistency limit tests were
originally developed for natural soil-water systems (Meegoda and Ratnaweera 1994).

Similarly, Sunil et al. (2009) reported that leachate-contaminated soil samples showed an
increase in the liquid limit and plasticity index values due to a change in nature of the pore fluid,
which is shown by an increase in the clay content of the specific surface area of the soil which
leads to high adsorption of water that changes the limit values.

4.3 Compaction Characteristics

In a study conducted by Sunil et al. (2008) on contaminated lithomargic clay soil with
leachate, the maximum dry unit weight (γ d, max ) decreased from an initial value of 15.89kN/m3 to
14.03kN/m3 and the optimum moisture content increased to 24.8% from an initial value of 20.1%
when the soil was mixed with 20% of leachate by weight.

Similarly, Nayak et al. (2007) noticed that the maximum dry density for lateritic soil is
15.47kN/m3 at an optimum moisture content of 19.52%. With the presence of leachate up to 5%,
the compaction characteristics did not change much. With 10% leachate the maximum dry unit
weight and optimum moisture content were 14.98kN/m3 and 25.01%. However, with a further
increase of leachate content up to 20% the compaction curve had an odd shape with inferior
characteristics.

A recent study carried out by Al-Fares (2011) on contaminated silty soil with leachate
shows a sudden drop of 0.4% in maximum dry unit weight when soil was mixed with
leachate by weight at 15% and increased in optimum moisture content by 22%.

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4.4 Strength Characteristics

Shear strength of a soil mass is the internal resistance per unit area that the soil mass can
offer to resist failure and sliding along any plane inside Das (1985). In soils generally the
relationship between stress and strain is non-linear, and volume changes develop from the applied
normal and shear stresses. The most commonly used strength theory is Mohr – Coulomb failure
criteria, which state that considered that a material fails because of a critical combination of normal
stress (σ) and shearing stress (τf). Thus, the functional relationship can be expressed as:
τf = c + σ tan ϕ (Eq. 2.1)

The τf = f (σ) in Eq. 2.1 according to Coulomb, shear strength τ f, is expressed in terms of
cohesion (c) and angle of friction (ϕ) on linear function.

Cohesion is defined as the bonding force between the fine-grained particles of a soil, and
is stressindependent. Due to the comparatively large components in waste, cohesion is mostly
interpreted as the interlocking of components in waste mechanics. Additionally, it is often defined
as apparent cohesion, which is caused by capillary forces. The friction angle is related to the
friction between the particles and is stress-dependent.

Sunil et al. (2009) carried out triaxial tests on clean lateritic soil, which was mixed with
leachate at increments of 5%, 10% and 20% by weight of soil. They found a slight increase in
cohesion and a decrease in friction angle as a result of leachate contamination for specimens tested.
The increase in clay content of lateritic soil after interaction with the leachate increased the
cohesion and decreased the friction angle.

In an investigation of the effect landfill leachate has on natural soil in Kuwait, AlFares
(2011) carried out direct shear tests on natural soil mixed with leachate and reported that the shear
strength parameters were dependent on the contaminated leachate content in the uncontaminated
soil. Their study showed an increase of cohesion from 10kPa to 17kPa for uncontaminated soil,
due to increases of leachate concentration up to 5% by weight of dry soil with no significant change
in the angle of friction. However, when the concentration of leachate increased up to 15% by
weight of dry soil the cohesion decreased to closely reach the cohesion of the clean soil with no
noticeable change in the angle of friction. Furthermore, the cohesion increased from 10 kPa to 22
kPa and the angle of friction slightly decreased from 35 degree to 34 degree due to 20% leachate
addition. However, Al-Fares (2011)

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Reddy et al. (2009) carried out direct shear tests on landfill MSW samples in the USA. The
samples had in-situ moisture content of 44% as well as being mixed with leachate at increments
of 60%, 80% and 100% by weight of soil. They observed that the cohesion of landfilled MSW
varied from 12–63kPa and the drained friction angle ranged from 31–35°. However they concluded
that there is no specific increase or decrease for the range of moisture content tested. Alsothey
concluded that there wasno specific correlation between shear strength and moisture content in the
tested landfill MSW samples.

4.5 Compressibility Characteristics

Compressibility of soil is defined as an increase of stress caused by construction of

foundation or other loads compresses soil layers (Das 1985). The compression is sometimes
caused by (a) deformation of soil particles. (b) Relocations of soil particles, and (c) expulsion of
water or air from the void space. In general, the soil settlement is caused by loads and may be
divided into three broad categories:

 Immediate settlement (or elastics settlement) which is caused by the elastic

deformation of dry soil. and of moist and saturated soils without any change in the moisture content

 Primary consolidation settlement which is the result of a volume change in

saturated cohesive soils because of the expulsion of the water that occupies the void spaces.

 Secondary consolidation settlement which is observed in saturated cohesive soils

and is the result of the plastic adjustment of soil fabrics. It is an additional to compression that
occurs at constant effective stress.
Hoeks (1983) showed the importance of the settlement of soil contaminated with leachate
within the landfill because it might be a cause of a number of problems to a closed landfill sites
like excessive differential settlement resulting in breakage of gas or leachate extraction pipes,
which may then result in a dangerous build-up of lowland gas or cause saturation of the waste
mass. Ojuri et al. (2012) studied the effect of high concentrations of heavy metals in the landfill
leachate on the behavior of clayey soil in Nigeria. Five specimens of clay soil mixed with nitrate
solution were tested in an oedometer apparatus for consolidation test with various concentrations
(0, 30, 60, 120 and 200 Mg/l) under constant pressure. The compression index and swelling index
(Cc and Cs) decreased with an increase in degree of nitrate contamination (0.46 and 0.0063, 0.43

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and 0.0060, 0.36 and 0.053, 0.28 and 0.041, and 0.24 and 0.037 for concentration of 0, 30, 60, 120
and 200 Mg/l respectively). The coefficient of consolidation “C v” increased with an increasing
degree of nitrate contamination (6.4, 8.12, 12.62, 15.914, and 18.86 cm2/sec respectively). This
implies that the soil compressed and rate of settlement are affected. These properties directly
influence the performance of shallow structural foundations.

Similarly Resmiet et al. (2011) focused in their study about the major contaminated
element in leachates caused from landfill sites and carried out the consolidation tests on
uncontaminated clayey soil with artificially fed lead nitrate. The soil samples soaked in various
lead solutions concentration (200, 500, 1000, and 2000 ppm) were kept in containers and left for
adsorption to take place, with occasional stirring. The results showed the values of the coefficient
of consolidation Cv increased with increasing sorbed concentration of lead.

4.6 Permeability Characteristics

Das (1985) explained the soil permeability as the ability of the soil to allow water/liquid to
flow through soil pores or voids.. The permeability can be used to classify the soil profile, high
permeability is seen in loose soil and low permeability is seen in dense soil. The permeability of
soil is one of the most important soil properties to geotechnical engineers, due to the factors stated
below:

 Permeability influences the rate of settlement of a saturated soil under load.

 The stability of slopes and retaining structures can be often depending on the
permeability of the soils concerned.
 Filters made of soils are designed based up on their permeability.

Nayak et al. (2007) reported that changes in soil structure occur after contamination with
leachate, with the void ratio of soil increasing when the pore water is replaced by leachate, as pore
fluid and the hydraulic conductivity raise as a result of dissolution of clay minerals by the leachate.

They studied the behaviour of interaction between uncontaminated lateritic soil mixed with
leachate in the amount of 5%, 10% and 20% by weight. The results showed an increase in the
permeability of soil that was mixed with 20% contaminated leachate to 50% mixture, which ranged
from 2.69x10-5 cm/s to 5.66x10-5 cm/s.

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Similarly, Sunil et al. (2008) observed that when 5% of contaminated leachate

concentration was mixed with lithomargic clay by weight, the hydraulic conductivity increased to
1.7x10-6cm/sec (6.25% increase compared with base value). At 10% leachate concentration the
hydraulic conductivity of the soil tested increased to 2.3x10 -6cm/sec (43.75% increase compared
with base value). Similarly when the soil was mixed with 20% leachate the increase in hydraulic
conductivity was about 75% when compared with the base value.
A recent experimental study carried out by Al-Fares (2011) on hydraulic conductivity of
leachate contaminated soil show that the permeability of natural silty sand that is mixed with
contaminated landfill leachate in different percentages by dry weight, increased as the leachate
concentration increased from 5.32x10-7 cm/sec to 1.32x10 -6cm/sec as the leachate concentration
increased from 0% leachate to 20% leachate.

Similarly Resmiet et al. (2011), noticed the increase of hydraulic conductivity of clayey
soil soaked in various lead solutions concentration (200, 500, 1000, and 2000) ppm as increase of
lead concentration (0.23, 0.28, 0.33, and 0.4) x10-7cm/s respectively.

In most of the studies presented during this literature review, the pH scale value of lowland
leachate was over 7.8 or 6; but several suggested that the powerfully acidic and powerfully basic
liquids will dissolve clay minerals and cause the destruction of soil structure. Moreover, Naidu
(1994) noticed that the rise of the pH scale value within the soil may influence the corrosion of
reinforcement.

4.7 Retention Mechanism in Contaminated Soil

Retention reactions in soils are important processes that govern the fate of chemical
contaminants such as heavy metals in groundwater (Kulikowska 2008). Substantial metal particles
may have lethal impacts on plants, creatures or people, and their poisonous quality is connected to
their mobility in soil. Heavy metal mobility relies on the properties of the soil (Trebouet 2001),
and the danger of these metals increases with increased mobility.

One critical procedure influencing substantial metal versatility in soil is sorption. Sorption
is the phenomenon in which metal particles, which normally bear a positive charge, are pulled in
to robust particles in the soil and natural matter which bear a negative charge (Kurniawan 2006).
This coupling is frequently reversible, and metals bound to the solids are in balance with metals in

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the soil water. This implies that strongly held metal particles are expelled from the soil water and
get less versatile than weakly held particles (Lyngkilde 1992).

It has long been felt that "heavy" soils, that is, high mud substance soils, have a tendency
to immobilize heavy metals. Because of this, waste disposal organisations feel safe when disposing
of their waste into clayey soils, providing they are managed by an environment body (Bolong
2009).

Harter (1983) and McBride (1979) reported that the retention of metals does not increase
until the pH is greater than seven. This effect is in part because of particular adsorption of the
hydrolyzed metal compared to the free metal particle. It was likewise indicated that the extent of
hydrolyzed metals builds with pH. For instance, hydrolysis of Cu happens at pH 6, Cd at pH 8,
Zn at pH 5.5. The other impact of pH is on adsorption locales, which are pH subordinate. As the
pH decreases, the amount of negative locales diminishes. In addition, as the pH gets more acidic,
metal cations need compete for the negatively charged locales.

An initial estimation of the adsorbents conduct is possible by a visual comparison of the

breakthrough curves. The breakthrough curves allow the discovering data including time required
to achieve most extreme adsorption, materials service time, the time it could be utilized before
substitution, and character of the breakthrough; fast or smooth. It can be noticed that all materials
adsorb different metals with similar patterns (Kalmykova 2004).

Kurniawan (2006) noticed that the concentrated on the sorption limit of copper, chromium,
lead, and cadmium through cluster balance investigates five types of soils (sand and sediment,
sandy) from Estonia. Two grams of the air-dried sample was added to each test tube along with 10
mL of the parent metal solution, after 16hrs of shaking at room temperature (21°C), the samples
were separated by centrifugation and analyzed. The results showed that the content of quartz and
carbonates influence of sorption capacity of soil, especially the cadmium and lead increased
attraction towards soils, as the content of carbonates and Manganese containing components
increased.

Du and Hayashi (2005) studied the potential sorption of heavy metals (Cd and Pb) on
Ariake clay. The results of the adsorption isotherm or equilibrium concentration and sorbed
concentration showed that with an increase in the solid - solution ratio, the amount of sorbed Cd
decreased and the equilibrium concentrations of Pb 2+ in the batch tests were found to be almost
zero, indirectly indicating that the Ariake clay has higher retention ability for Pb than Cd.

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Hatton and Pickering (1980) discovered that the quatity of metal ions sorbed by the solids
increased with increasing pH over the range 3 to 6 and with mixtures of claycellulose or illitehumic
acid. However, a reduction in adsorption of copper and zinc ions occurs when the samples were
mixed with Na+ to form kaolinite or montmorillonite.

Yong et al. (2001) reported that heavy metal concentration in the effluent of leachate
obtained from column test with four different types of soil from different location around South
Wales to the influent concentration of Pb, Cu, and Zn with no breakthrough for the four soils.
Furthermore, the permeability becomes constant or increases slightly with increasing of the pore
volume. They also reported that the pH values of the effluent for the soils between the range 7.5
and 9.5 that indicate all heavy metals were precipitated in the soil column.

Yong et al. (2001) examined the retention of the heavy metals (Pb, Cu, and Zn) in the three
soil types from South Wales. The leaching experiments were conducted under constant air pressure
of 10kPa. The column test was first saturated with distilled water for 2 pore volumes and then
saturated with leachate obtained from MSW landfill up to 5 pore volumes. The discharge leachate
was then collected and analyzed. The results showed that the retention of heavy metals in the three
soils was very high, with only a small breakthrough detected in the effluent following the 5 pore
volume of leaching with the test leachate.

Similarly, Zuhairi et al. (2008) conducted a study based on a previous leaching column test
suggested by Yong (2001) and Zuhairi (2000), which measured the retention of heavy metals (Pb,
Cu, Ni, and Zn) on three types of natural soils from Selangor area in Malaysia. The breakthrough
curves observed that the relative concentration of the heavy metals increased with the increasing
number of pore volumes, Ni and Zn were the most mobile heavy metals and sorption of heavy
metals was high.

Tan et al. (2006) noticed that the breakthrough curve can be defined as desorption or
mobility curve. The very acidic leachate showed good interaction with the natural pH soil
especially at the top part of the column test reported by Yong et al. (2001).

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4.8 Groundwater Contamination

The groundwater system is most at risk in areas that have a shallow water table and high
precipitation. Traditionally, several sites were designed on the principle of ‘dilute and disperse’,
where leachate was able to drain into nearby groundwater systems. While most of the analysis into
leachate plumes concentrates on these older sites and people in sensitive areas, containment sites
also show proof of leachate contamination of the groundwater with leachate plumes (Deutsch
1997).

Any receptors or groundwater abstraction points near the location need protection from the
potential pollution, and the water samples taken from the wells make sure any changes in material
concentration can be monitored. Leachate plumes may additionally be detected because of an
increase in groundwater temperature directly down gradient of the location as the degradation
process releases energy (MacFarlane et al. 1983).

Most contamination plumes are small and do not exceed the dimension of the landfills,
indicating temperature change as the primary mode of mass transport. The natural attenuation
capability of the encompassing sediment could limit the impact of the plume to an area of 1000m
or less (Johnson et al. 1999).

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MATERIALS & METHODS

5.1 Soil Properties

Soil samples for this study were collected from the Al-Jahra landfill site. The landfill site
is situated about 4 km south-west of Kuwait city as shown in Figure 3.2. The strata of the Al-Jahra
area are formed mainly by two types of soil; silty sand and clayey sand, samples of which were
obtained from a previous investigation undertaken by a private company (Jeragh 2009, 2012).
Since 1986, about two square kilometer of land area has been used as a waste disposal site in
AlJahra.
This landfill site primarily consists of a non-engineered deserted sand quarry.

Fig 5.1 The map of Al-Jahra landfill site

The Al-Jahra site was decommissioned in April 2006. According to the Kuwait
Municipality, (Personal Communication 2008), this landfill site was reactivated in August 2007
by the Kuwait Municipality. However, the waste that was dumped at this site was not disposed of
in properly designed landfills. A need to assess the environmental impact of the Al-Jahra dumpsite
then emerged in order to avoid the likely negative contaminant migration that is likely to affect the
residents living in the areas close to the dumpsite.

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The current research will play an important role as it will offer crucial details needed to
help the decision-making process in the re-development aims of the site, which will ensure the
safeguarding of groundwater resources, public well-being and the surrounding area in general.

The soil profile of the Al-Jahra site is presented in Figure 3.3. Four boreholes were
excavated to understand the underlying soil type and formation. The first layer (top 5 to 6m) of
soil was full of contaminated soil. The second layer was about 3m deep and was composed of very
dense fine to medium clayey sand. The relative densities of the soil were defined by using the
result of a 63.5kg hammer stroke falling through a distance of 0.76 cm over the depth (Jeragh
2009). The third layer was 2.0m deep and consisted of fine to medium silty and clayey sand. The
fourth layer was comprised of approximately 3.0m of very dense clayey sand. The water table
was about 18.5m below the ground surface.

Fig. 5.2 Soil conditions at Al-Jahra site

The soils used in the experiment were natural soils obtained from test pits of 0.5 to 3 m
depth of the Al-Jahra landfill boundary. Al-Fares (2011) reported that the collected samples from
the AlJahra landfill boundary were uncontaminated. The soils were classified at the civil
engineering laboratories of Kuwait University following the ASTM standards described below.

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5.2 Particle Size Distribution

To obtain the particle size distribution of the soil samples, the procedure suggested by
ASTM D422 (2007a) was followed. The tests were carried out using 398.1g of washed silty sand
and 758.7g of washed clayey sand. ASTM standard sieves of No 4, 10, 100, 200 were used.

5.3 Compaction

The maximum dry density and optimum moisture content of the soils were determined
using the modified Proctor test (ASTM D1557 2012a). Soils were compacted into equal five layers
(25 blows/layer) using a 2.5 kg hammer dropped from 304.5mm height at predetermined moisture
contents. The variation of dry density against the moisture content was plotted for determining the
compaction properties.

5.4 Atterberg Limits

The Atterberg limits refer to a set of index tests performed on soils to determine the relative
activity of the soils and their relationship to moisture content (ASTM D4318 2010a). The liquid
limit, is defined as the level of moisture content at which soil begins to behave as a liquid material
and starts to flow. The liquid limit was determined using liquid limit apparatus of ASTM D4318
(2010a).

The plastic limit, which represents the degree to which puddled or reworked soil can be
permanently deformed without rupturing, was carried out using the method of ASTM D4318
(2010a), where a thread of soil was rolled on a glass plate.

5.5 Field Density

The field density of the Al-Jahra soil was determined at the investigation site according to
the sand–cone method of ASTM D1556 (2007b). The cone was filled with Ottawa sand, which is
defined as uniform in density and grading, uncemented, durable, and free-flowing silica sand
passed through No.20 U.S. sieve and retained on No.30 conformed by ASTM standard, and then
weighed. The dry unit weigh of the soil in the field was determined in terms of Mg/m3.

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5.6 Natural Moisture Content

The water content of a given soil is defined as the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the
mass of dry soil and water content. In line with ASTM D2216 (2010b), the moisture content was
determined as a percentage of the quotient of the mass of water and the dry mass of sample.

 Specific Gravity

The specific gravity (Gs) of the soil was determined using the standard pycnometer method
ASTM C128 (2012b). The specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the mass of a unit volume of
a material to the mass density of distilled water at a stated temperature.

 Chemical Characterisation

The chemical characteristics of the Al-Jahra soil are described below in terms of the pH
value and organic matter content.

 pH Value

The pH value of soil was determined using Electrometric method BS 1377 part 1 (1990).
Three readings of pH were taken after stirring the suspension each time and recorded.

 Organic Matter

The organic matter content of the soil was determined using the method of BS 1377 (1990).
The organic matter of the soil was determined as the percentage loss in soil mass when the soil
was combusted in a muffle oven.

 Leachate

The leachate used in the experiment was collected from the Al-Qurain landfill located
about 15 km south-east of Kuwait city as shown in Figure 3. Al-Fares (2011) reported that due to
the absence of a collection system of leachate in the Kuwait landfills, the Al-Qurain landfill is the
only source of real leachate in Kuwait. The AlQurain landfill was closed in 1985 due to complaints
from residents and the waste then placed in the Al-Jahra landfill, 7th ring road and Al-Sulaibiya

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landfills (AlMuzaini 2006). The Kuwait environmental public authority initiated a project to
rehabilitation the Al-Qurian landfill in 1999 by equipping the site with an active landfill gas
ventilation system and plant for leachate collection and pre-treatment (Al-Ahamd et al. 2012).

Figure 3.4: Map of Al-Qurain landfill site (Al-Muzaini 2006)

The Al-Jahra landfill is still running with two new landfills opened recently as other sites
were closed. The leachate samples that will be used in this study have been collected from the
pond facility of Al-Qurain landfill using clean glass bottles then tightly sealed and kept in an
icebox. The samples were then transported to the laboratory and kept in the refrigerator at 4ᵒCprior
to using in the study.

5.7 Chemical Characterisation

The chemical properties of the leachate analyzed in this study are: pH, total dissolved solids
(TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total organic

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carbon (TOC), electrical conductivity (EC), chloride content (Cl −), alkalinity content and heavy
metals. The American Public Health Association (APHA) standard was followed for analysis of
leachate samples in the Chemical Engineering department laboratories (CED) at Kuwait
University. The selections of the chemical tests were based as per CED recommendation.

 pH Value

The pH value of leachate was determined using the Electrometric method following APHA
4500B (2005). The pH electrode was immersed in the sample beaker. The pH reading was recorded
once the reading stabilized.

 Total Dissolved Solid

The dissolved solid (TDS) of contaminated leachate was measured following APHA
2540C (2005). The TDS was calculated in terms of Mg/l as the loss in leachate mass occurred
when the leachate was dehydrated in a furnace at 180ᵒC

 Chemical Oxygen Demand

The chemical oxygen demand (COD), defined as the amount of a specified oxidant that
reacts with the sample under controlled conditions, was calculated using APHA 5220B (2005).
The COD was determined in terms of Mg O 2/l when the color of titrated solution changed from
bluegreen to reddish brown.

 Biological Oxygen Demand

The biological oxygen demand (BOD) is used to determine the relative oxygen
requirements of wastewaters, effluents and polluted waters that are useful in evaluating the BOD
removal efficiency of such treatment systems. It measures the molecular oxygen utilized during a
specified incubation period for the biochemical degradation of organic and inorganic material.
The BOD was measured following APHA 5210B (2005). The BOD was calculated in units of Mg/l
after 5 days of incubation period at 20ᵒC.

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5.8 Total Organic Carbon

The total organic carbon (TOC) was measured following APHA 5310B (2005). The sample
was transferred to an auto sampler vial of the TOC analyzer apparatus called SHIMADZU.V and
20µl of the sample was injected in the apparatus. TOC concentration was read directly from the
analyzer apparatus.

 Electrical Conductivity

The electrical conductivity (EC) is used to measure the ability of an aqueous solution to
carry an electric current. The EC was determined using a conductivity cell containing a platinized
electrode and following APHA 2510B (2005).

 Chloride Content

The chloride content (Cl -) was measured using APHA 4500B (2005). The Cl - was determined in
terms of Mg/l when the color of titrated solution changed to a pinkish yellow end point.

 Alkalinity Content

The alkalinity content was determined using APHA 2320B (2005). The total alkalinity
was calculated as per Mg of CaCO3/mL as the pH value of sample reached 4.5.

 Heavy Metals

The heavy metals content was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass

Spectrometry (ICP-MS) using method APHA 3125B (2005). The heavy metals were determined
as per Mg/l in the ICP-MS after the leachate was refluxed and heated at 95ᵒC.

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GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES

6.1 Soil Properties

The soils used in this investigation were natural soils from Kuwait. The soils were obtained
from test pits of 0.5 to 3 m deep, taken from locations that were 1 to 3 meters away from the Al-
Jahra landfill boundary.

 Particle Size Distribution

The particle size distribution of the Al-Jahra soils is shown in Figure 4.1. The collected
soils were mainly composed of sand without any gravel. The grain size distribution curves indicate
the percentage of the fine particles (passed through a 63µm sieve) in the soils are about 10% and
26% for soils S1 and S2, respectively.

The fine particles below 75µm were not measured due to unavailability of the necessary
facilities at the Kuwait university laboratory. The particles size distributions for the soils are
summarized in Table 4.1.

Fig: 6.1: Particle size distribution of the chosen Al- Jahra soils

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Table 6.1: The grain size distribution of the soils

Percent Passing Soil Group

Sieve Openings (mm)
Sand Silt and
Soil Gravel Clay

4.75 2 0.85 0.150 0.075

0.425 (%)

S1 100 97.47 87 63.07 16.27 10.89 0 89.11 10.89

S2 100 98.94 92.16 75.33 37.36 26.27 0 73.73 26.27

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Fig: 6.1.1: Plasticity chart

 Soil classification

The soils are classified according to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) as
ecommended by the ASTM D2487 (2006). The classifications are based on Atterberg limits and
particle size distribution. Soil classification is based on the fine contents percentage, coefficient of
uniformity (Cu), and the coefficient of curvature (Cc).

The calculation of the Cu and Cc values and the classification results of the soil samples
are summarized in Table 4.2. The parameters of Cc and Cu were not calculated for the soil S2 if
the fine particles were greater than 12%, as recommend by UCCS.

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Table; 6.1.1. The soil classification

Soil F 200 D60 D30 D10 Cu Cc Atterberg limits Soil

(%) LL PL PI Classification

S1 10.89 0.4 0.21 0.075 5.3 1.3 Non - Plastic SP-SM

S2 26.27 - - - - - 28 19 9 SC

From Table 4.2, the soil S1 can be classified as poorly graded silty sand. The soil S2 can be
classified as clayey sand. These are in general agreement with findings of Jeragh (2009, 2012).

 Compaction

The compaction characteristics of the soils are presented in Figure 4.3. In the case of silty
sand the maximum dry density of 2.03 Mg/m 3 is observed at the optimum moisture content of
8.5%, while for the clayey sand the maximum dry density is 2.06 Mg/m3 at the optimum moisture
content of about 10%.

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Figure; 6.1.2 Compaction curves of the soil used

It can be seen that the compaction curves for silty sand and clayey sand are clearly
defined single peak compaction curves. The maximum dry density for the silty sand and clayey
sand showed no significant different.

 Field Density

The field densities of the natural soil samples were measured as 1.8 Mg/m 3 using the
method detailed in section 3.2.4. The field density refers to the actual density of the soil at the site.
In this research the field density results was used for preparing soil specimens in order to mimic
the field conditions which stands out as the key consideration of the study.

 Natural Moisture Content

The natural moisture contents of the silty sand and the clayey sand were calculated as 2.9%
and 3.4%, respectively. The natural moisture contents were determined using the method detailed
in section 3.2.5. The natural moisture contents were used to achieve the field conditions in the
prepared soil specimens.

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 Specific Gravity

The specific gravity (Gs) of the silty sand and the clayey sand were determined as 2.65 and
2.67 respectively, using the method detailed in section 3.2.6.

6.2 Chemical Characterisation

The basic chemical characterisation of the silty sand and the clayey sand was obtained from
(AlFares 2009; Jeragh 2009), as shown in the Table 4.3.
The pH values of the soils are strongly alkaline which can be attributed to high calcium
arbonate content present in the soils (Ismael et al. 1986). The total organic contentnof the soils are
very low; less than 1%. Caravaca and Albaladejo (1999) and Ismael et al. (1986) reported that the
semiarid climatologic characteristics (low rainfall and high temperature) could be reducing the
input of the organic matter.

Table; 6.2.1 : Chemical characterization of Al-Jahra soil

Calcium Carbonate Organic Matter

Soil Type pH
(%) (%)

Silty sand 8.49 8.37 0.027

Clayey sand 9.58 7.16 0.039

 Chemical Characterisation of the Leachate Used

The results of the chemical analysis of the leachate obtained from Al-Qurain landfill site
which was used in this study, is listed in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4 shows that the pH value of the leachate is 8.37, which is alkalinity and can reduce
the mobility of the heavy metals. The concentrations of chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni)
and Arsenic (As) are significant indicating the severity of toxic metals in the leachate. This aspects
forms the main issue of the investigation.

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Table; 6.2.2: Chemical analysis of the leachate sample

Parameters Results Parameters Results

pH 8.37 Phosphate (PO34−) 31.705 ppm

35591 ppm
Electrical Conductivity (EC) 14.63 ms/cm Sulphate (SO42−)

13421.7 µg/l
Total dissolved solids (TDS) 11704 Mg/l Boron (B)

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) 1670 Mg/l Titanium (Ti) 829.49 µg/l

Biochemical oxygen demand < 0.01 µg/l

(BOD) 780 Mg/l Vanadium (V)

292.53 µg/l
Total organic carbon (TOC) 530 Mg/l Chromium (Cr)

Total chlorine (Cl) 0.18 Mg/l Cobalt (Co) 26.144 µg/l

Alkalinity 400 Mg/l Nickel (Ni) 164.74 µg/l

Chloride (Cl-) 1730 Mg/l Copper (Cu) 129.57 µg/l

Calcium (Ca) 323.24 Mg/l Zinc (Zn) 132.76 µg/l

Iron (Fe) 4.38 Mg/l Germanium (Ge) 15.012 µg/l

Potassium (K) 449.52 Mg/l Arsenic (As) 351.26 µg/l

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Magnesium (Mg) 125.25 Mg/l Silver (Ag) 4.7504 µg/l

Manganese (Mn) 0.1 Mg/l Cadmium (Cd) < 0.01 µg/l

Sodium (Na) 3804.77 Mg/l Mercury (Hg) < 5 µg/l

5.1828 µg/l
Strontium (Sr) 2.98 Mg/l Lead (Pb)

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Treatment of Leachate

Currently, the most widely used method of Leachate treatment is re-infusion and release
into a municipal water treatment facility (Christensen 1994). This method is effective in that it
increases the rate of leachate deterioration and creates landfill gas (Christensen 1994). This
decreases the overall volume of leachate, but unfortunately also condenses the contaminants inside
the fluid (Lopez 2004). The landfill gas created presents an opportunity though, as its primary
constituents are methane and carbon dioxide, meaning it can be used as a fuel asset (Renou 2008).

Leachate is also released into to local watercourses, but due to restrictions placed on the
chemical composition of the leachate released this way, it must be pretreated first (Li 1999).
Leachate can be dealt with on-site or transported to specialist treatment facilities (Christensen
1994). Treatment normally involves using activated sludge to break up the organic substances, but
in many cases is still not environmentally safe at this stage so is transported to neighborhood
sewers (Christensen 1994).

To effectively address the issue of leachate treatment, it is important to also deal with old
and neglected landfill sites that were constructed before proper regulations were put in place, and
therefor lack an impermeable covering (Deng 2006). These old sites can have a large impact on
the soil as they can contain a variety of manufactured and natural types of matter, whose
deterioration creates considerable contamination (Lopez 2004).
The organic methods of deterioration can take up to 40 years after the site is closed, giving
rise to exceedingly contaminated leachate due to the permeation of precipitation (Christensen
2001).

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PHOTO GALLERY

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CONCLUSIONS

 The key objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of landfill leachate on the
uncontaminated soil and the surrounding environment of Kuwait.
 The findings presented in this thesis are considered in terms of the influence of leachate on
both geotechnical and geoenvironmental properties of soils.
 The study focused on the Al-Jahra site, the largest open landfill site in Kuwait, as the way
the waste is disposed of in this site leading to contamination of the surrounding clean soils
and the groundwater. Two natural soils (a silty sand and a clayey sand) were selected for
the study that represent the common soils in the Al-Jahra city region and are also more
broadly represent the common soils of Kuwait. The leachate was obtained from the Al-
Qurain landfill site as this is the only source of leachate in Kuwait, as reported by Al-Fares
(2011).
 The basic physical properties of the soils were determined by standard laboratory methods
prior to the main testing program.
 The interaction between the soils and the fluids (water and leachate) was investigated by
considering three different specimen preparation methods.
 The first method was to mix the soil with leachate at increments of 0%, 10%, 20%, and
40% by the weight of the soils; this is a traditional method and is usually used to measure
the positive or negative influence of the moisture. The second method consisted of soil
specimens being inundated with leachate or water to simulate realistic interaction between
different fluids and the soils. The third method involved submerging specimens in the
different fluids until chemical equilibrium was reached to simulate the long-term case when
leachate has passed through the soil and the soil has returned to dry conditions.
 After the soil specimens were prepared using the methods described above, the
geotechnical properties (shear strength and compressibility), and the geo-environmental
properties (adsorption and retention) of the soils were determined. A detailed study was
undertaken to investigate the effect of the leachate on the bearing capacity and settlement
of the soils at the Al-Jahra site. The soil column test data (adsorption and retention) were
used to verify the efficiency of HYDRUS 1D model.

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 Nowadays the harmful effect of leachate is seen overall in India. Leachate generated from
the Chikhli MSW uncontrolled landfill site demonstrated that it was in its methanogen
phase with intermediate biodegradability, slightly alkaline pH with high concentrations of
NH3- N and heavy metals.
 As LPI is a very useful method to identify the leachate pollution potential of different
landfills, LPI value of 34.02 for the active dumping ground and 31.80 for the closed
dumping ground at Chikhli, Kolkata implies that the dumping grounds were highly
unsterilized and hazardous largely exceeding the LPI value for the leachate disposal
standards (7.378) for the inland surface water. The sub-LPI scores of the active dumping
ground, LPIor, 53.09; LPIin, 51.73 and LPIhm,16.37 and closed dumping ground, LPIor,
46.74; LPIin, 48.57 and LPIhm, 16.46 indicated that the values are much higher than the
leachate disposal standard values of 7.03 , 6.57 and 7.89 respectively for inland surface
water. As per the individual pollution rating, the major pollutants identified in the Chikhli
active and closed dumping grounds were TCB, TKN, NH 3- N and Hg. High values of
LPIor were majorly due to the abundance of TCB which indicated sanitary and
epidemiological hazard. High LPIin values were due to the high concentrations of TKN
and NH3- N which showed the vulnerability of the surrounding groundwater aquifers and
the moderate values of LPIhm were mainly due to the presence of Hg, one of the priority
hazardous substances which undergoes bio-accumulation and bio magnification.
 Necessary remedial action should be taken to meet the discharge standards before leachate
is being properly disposed in the Chikhli landfill site. Immediate attention is required as
leachate pose threat to the surrounding ecosystems and human health. Regular monitoring
is essential to avoid the contamination of the sub-surface and adjacent aquatic
environment. Leachate treatment processes should also be encouraged to mitigate further
environmental problems. Moreover an engineered sustainable sanitary landfill site should
be designed for solid waste dumping as the life span of the existing uncontrolled landfill
site at Chikhli is almost exhausted.

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References

Abdal, M. and Al-Qallaf, M. 1993. Water management for the greenery of Kuwait. Acta
Horticultural, Irrigation of Horticulturae Crop., 335, pp.95-100.

Al-Ahmad, M., Dimashki, M., Nassou, A. & Nelles, M. 2012. Characterization, Concentrations
and Emission Rates of Volatile Organic Compounds from Two Major Landfill Sites in Kuwait.
American Journal of Environmental Sciences, 8(1), pp.56-63.

Al-Awadi, F. 1998. Training Course on Freshwater Quality and Treatments. Kuwait: Kuwait
Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

Al-Awadi, F. 1998. Training Course on Freshwater Quality and Treatments. Kuwait: Kuwait
Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

Al-Barak, K.M..A.-R.F.M.a.A.-S.M. 2008. Assessment of Utilization of Groundwater for

AlRawda Mosques - Kuwait. Journal of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies, 34(130), pp.1153.

Al-Fares, R. 2011. Efffect of Leachate-Soil interaction on shear strength, perambility, compaction

and chemical characteristics. Environmental systems, 32(4), pp.227-97.

Al-Fares, R., Abdelsalam, Z. & Al-Jarallah, R. 2010. An initial pilot scale investigation of Al-
Jahra waste disposal site using electrical resistivity (ER) surveys. Kuwait J.Sci. Eng., 37(2B),
pp.25-42.

Alhassan, M. 2012. Effect of municipal soild waste on geotechincal properties of

soils.International Journal of Environmental Science, Management and Engineering Research,
1(5), pp.204 - 210.

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Site photo

Landfill site

Landfill site

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Landfill site

Landfill site

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 INVESTIGATION OF LANDFILL LEACHATE IMPACT ON SURROUNDING SOIL

Landfill site

Landfill site

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PERSONAL INFORMATION

PROJECT GUIDE

PROF. AMOL N. PATOLE

At. Post – Pimpalgaon Sarai

Tq. Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 9763308616

e-mail: [email protected]

PROJECT BATCH

MR. KAIWALYA G. MAHAJAN

At. Post – Chikhli.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7276077715

e-mail:- [email protected]

MR. UMESH R. DAGWAL

At. Post – Chikhli.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7558213161

e-mail:- [email protected]

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MR. RUSHIKESH B. HAWARE

At. Post – Sawana.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7057703277

e-mail:- [email protected]

MR. RUSHIKES N. DESHMANE

At. Post – Raipur

Tq. Dist. Buldana

Mob No.: 7709531814

e-mail:- [email protected]

MR. ABHIJEET D. DESHMUKH

At. Post – Chikhli.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7248984000

e-mail:- [email protected]

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INTRODUCTION

At present, deposition of municipal and industrial wastes in landfills is considered as the

most wide spread and safe method for waste disposal solid wastes. But the scarcity of the available
landfill sites and the large amount of generated leachate from these sites are the major problems
of municipal solid waste disposal with landfilling method.

A landfill is designed to inhibit degradation of waste to protect the environment from

harmful contamination. Sanitary landfill is the scientific dumping of municipal solid waste due to
which maturity of the waste material is achieved faster. Generation of leachate from sanitary
landfill is a complex combination of physical, chemical and biological processes whereby waste
age has effect to performance of landfill that generate leachate. The major potential environmental
impacts related to solid waste landfill leachate are pollution of surface water and ground water.
The risk of ground water pollution is probably the most severe environmental impact from landfills
because historically most landfills were built without engineered liners and leachate collection and
treatment systems. Generally, it is accepted that landfills undergo at least four phases of
decompositions: (a) an initial aerobic phase, (b) an anaerobic acid phase, (c) an initial
methanogenic phase, (d) a stable methanogenic phase. Once the refuse is very well decomposed,
the rate of oxygen diffusion into the landfill may exceed the rate of microbial oxygen depletion.
Thus, over time the anaerobic landfill is hypothesized to become an aerobic ecosystem. The
leachate characteristics such as pH, BOD 3,COD, ammonia, microorganisms, heavy metals and
phosphate are varied from site to site and seasonally at each site. Leachate contains high
concentration of nutrients. Its release into natural ecosystems can cause eutrophication and changes
in the natural biodiversity.

This paper presents the results of leachate composition and characteristics such as pH,
BOD,3 COD, heavy metals of a municipal solid waste (MSW). One sample was collected from the
Kuwait landfill area itself and another sample from a surface pond near the same landfill area
located in Kuwait The concentration of magnesium is also measured as it is one nutrient for the
growth of algae.

Removal of landfill contaminants requires significant financial investment, as well as

echnologies that are not currently used by organizations in Kuwait (Al-Muzaini et al. 1995). It has
been identified that no proper monitoring programs are implemented by Kuwait, and therefore the
natural soil and subsurface environments contain major health hazards and threats to the
environment. It is argued that the landfill sites currently used for all types of waste by the Kuwait

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municipality do not follow the minimum environmental standards and conditions in terms of
proper site selection, design and management. When combined with the aforementioned low
absorption capacity and high infiltration rate of the natural soil, the increasing generation of waste
materials and lack of proper leachate management in Kuwait gives rise to negative physical and
chemical characteristics in the soil

The research focusing on these issues is rare, so in order to come up with adequate safety
precaution and improved standards and practices, it is vital that analysis of the effects of
contaminated leachate on the physical and chemical properties of the natural soil in Kuwait takes
place.

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Literature Review

Waste is the direct consequence of many types of human activity, and has been a burden
to deal with across the world and throughout history. Landfilling has emerged as the simplest and
most economical method of disposing with this waste.

Waste is broadly classified into three main types; solid, liquid, and gas. Gaseous wastes
are those that dissipate in the atmosphere, and can either be treated or untreated, depending on the
composition of the gas and the regulations of the country where it is disposed. Liquid wastes are
those that are disposed of into rivers or sewers, and are treated before disposal, depending on the
legislation (Geismar 2014).

In many parts of the world however, problems exist with the creation and implementation
of this kind of legislation, and unmanaged liquid waste is disposed of into different bodies of water
or allowed to penetrate into the ground, polluting water bodies and giving rise to many other
problems (Milosevic 2012).

The disposal of waste is seen as a major problem in most of the developing countries, with
most waste being disposed of into landfill. This also true for solid waste in many developed
nations, however, as in 1999, the main method of waste disposal in Western Europe was landfill.
Despite policies to promote reuse and reduction of waste within the European Union, more than
half of its member states dispose of 75% of their waste through landfill (Thiruvenkatachari et al.
2008), with Ireland disposing of 92% this way. While the proportion of waste that is landfilled is
expected to decrease, the actual volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) is increasing
significantly, at a rate of 3% per year for many developed nations, creating an ongoing waste
disposal and groundwater pollution problem (Thomsenet al. 2012).

Modern landfills use liners made of plastic and other non-porous materials to stop the
pollution from garbage leaking into the soil. Many landfills are located in areas with deposits of
clay and other natural resources, which act as a liner. A system of drainage pipes is installed by
the landfill operators to direct leachate, or liquid waste, into nearby wells and ponds where these
liquid wastes are tested and treated

(Milosevic 2012). After a landfill is full, the ground water around these landfills is quality
tested for many years. In order to ensure safety, regulations are developed by the Environmental

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Protection Agency (EPA), which help in governing the operations of landfill sites and prevent the
leakage of leachate and methane (Gallas et al. 2011).

A landfill is similar to an airtight storage container in that garbage does not break down
very easily, as can be seen by the slow break down rates of biodegradables such as paper or grass
clippings. Once classified as closed, landfill sites are often transformed into parks, ski slopes and
gold coursed, however they are never built upon due to the impact of settling.
Newer types of landfill have been developed, such as bioreactors which make use of
leachate air to encourage biodegrading inside the landfill. Much more waste can be stored in
bioreactors than in traditional landfills, and Bella et al.(2011) reported that the methane gase
produced by the breakdown of organic waste in the bioreactor can be used as an energy source.
This methane has similar properties to natural gas, so can be used as fuel, or used to generate
electricity by burning.

Previous research has shown that around 14% of all waste is burned, 31% is recycled, and
55% is stored in landfill.
Recycling is recommended by the EPA to save natural resources and protect the
environment from pollution. Recycling also helps in decreasing the need for landfill.

Which in turn lessens the problems created by waste management. Recycling can be
encouraged by placing bins in the home and calling for a national reduction in the disposal of waste
through the garbage system, as well as through legislation. It has been shown that if proper national
legislation is adopted, recycling can significantly reduce waste and environmental pollution (Bella
et al. 2011).

Certain guidelines for the disposal of dangerous and household waste have been laid out
by the government-sponsored hazardous waste disposal facility. The specified waste materials
include chemicals, fertilizers, medicines, insect killers and suppliers of automotive and such other
materials. These waste materials must be disposed of according to the instructions set out by
Europe Water Framework Directive, as otherwise pollution can occur (Thomsen et al. 2012).

Geismar (2014) reported that the harmful effects of waste on the environment can be
avoided by storing unwanted waste in various disposal facilities. Rather than dumping local waste
in holes and pits – which are typically unlined and offer no protection to the groundwater supply -
it can be dealt with in specialist facilities where its spread and treatment can be regulated, and its

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impact on the environment reduced. To ensure this, various policies and agencies must be created
in developing countries.

Many aspects of waste management have the potential to pollute or damage the
environment, including the collection, storage, treatment, transport, and disposal of waste.
Unmanaged groundwater also has the potential to pollute the environment, as the leachate
migration that takes place at landfill sites is hard to control, and may end up contaminating the
groundwater and causing wider problems. Therefore, adequately managing the leachate and
groundwater is vital in mitigating damage to the environment (Gallas et al. 2011).

Milosevic (2012) considered that human wastes can be identified as wastes that are
produced by the human use of different non-toxic substances such as paper and food, but also
waste related to toxic substances such as batteries, paint, healthcare waste, asbestos, and sewage
sludge. Solid wastes can be classified into the broad categories of commercial and non-dangerous
industrial wastes, household waste, construction and demolition waste, toxic industrial waste,
human and animal waste, and waste related to healthcare.

2.1 Sanitory landfill

Sanitary landfills make use of liner clay so that trash can be separated from the environment
(Milosevic 2012). Sanitary landfills are used in the areas where it is a major requirement that
discarded waste must be isolated from the environment until it is confirmed that the area is safe.
The waste is considered safe when it is completely degraded; chemically, physically and
biologically (Diamantis 2013). Modern technology is used in sanitary landfills to prevent the
leakage of dangerous substances. In sanitary landfills, two main types of methods are used (Bella
et al. 2011). These are the trench method and the area method, with the trench method being
considered more appropriate in areas of low waste. Both methods make us of the cell principle,
using soil to cover compacted waste. (Thomsen et al. 2012). Both methods are illustrated in Figure
2.1.

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Figure 2.1: Sanitary Landfill

2.2 Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfills

This type of landfill uses a synthetic plastic lining to isolate waste from the surrounding
environment, and is contains household garbage collected and managed by the local and state
governments (Geismar 2014). The allowed contents of MSW sites have been specified by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with materials such as paints, chemicals, batteries,
cleaners, motor oil, and pesticides being banned (Al-Jarallah & Aleisa 2014). Some household
appliances are safe for disposal in an MSW site, but dangerous wastes such as bulk liquids or
wastes that have free liquids, yard waste and scrap tires are not (Thomsen et al. 2012).

2.3 Construction and Demolition Waste Landfills

Construction and demolition are used to dispose of materials used in the construction,
renovation, and demolition of roads, bridges and buildings. These wastes mostly include gypsum,
wood, asphalt, bricks, soil rock, glass, concrete, trees, and other building components (Geismar
2014). These contribute to pollution of the environment and when burned can emit toxic gases. It
is essential for Construction and Demolition wastes to meet the operating, siting, design and
closure and postclosure requirements. They are even prohibited from accepting debris that is
minced (Milosevic 2012). The best way to avoid these wastes is to keep proper estimate of the raw
materials that are needed for construction projects. Recycling these types of wastes does not only
help in saving money but also helps reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills (Thomsen
et al. 2012).

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Landfill leachate

3.1 Landfill Leachate Generation

Leachate is created by liquid percolating through waste, with the chemical composition of
the waste and the biochemical processes within it playing a role. As the liquid migrates through
the waste, it encounters pathogenic micro-organisms and extracts solutes and suspended solids
from the waste, thus becoming contaminated (Christensen 2001). Increased levels of leachate
occur with increased precipitation, such as during the wetter seasons (Chiang 1995). The level of
contamination in the Leachate is influenced by the type of waste it moves through, and the level
of biodegradation of the waste. Leachate from biodegradable waste may hold a significant quantity
of natural substances, including alkali nitrogen and chlorinated natural and inorganic salts. All
these substances are poisonous to a number of organic entities, particularly to sea life, and can
result in harm to human health (Renou 2008).

Atmospheric conditions such as rain and snow greatly impacts leachate creation (Frost
1977). Within the landfill site itself surface spillover can affect leachate quantity, as can
groundwater penetration if the site is constructed below the water table. Besides precipitation and
atmospheric conditions, the water content and level of compaction can affect leachate creation.
Less compaction can give rise to more leachate due to the reduced penetration rate (Deng 2006).

As water travels through the waste, it collects contaminants in a few different ways.
Contaminants could be absorbed into the water by disintegration or suspension (Lin 2000).
As natural materials in the waste disintegrate and decompose due to biotic activity, metabolic
intermediates and by-products can be absorbed. Moreover, Li (1999) noticed that these byproducts
can lead to metals being dissolved due to the lowered pH (Li 1999).

3.2 Landfill leachate composition

The composition of leachate is dependent on the location and conditions of the landfill,
including the type of waste stored and how old the landfill is. Therefore, while generalizations can
be made about normal waste and leachate, each leachate should be considered as distinct

Recent studies have indicated that landfill leachate holds a higher toxin load than crude
sewerage. Christensen et al. (2001) created a rundown of the biogeochemistry of Leachate plumes

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produced by city, business and industrial waste masses (Chiang 1995). A good understanding of
leachate is required understand the nature of leachate plumes.

Al-Salem (2009) reported there are four groups of pollutants likely to be found in landfill
leachate;

 Dissolved organic matter including methane, measured by COD and TOC

 Heavy metals

 Particular organic compounds

 Inorganic compounds

The natural substances found in Leachate are measured through analysis of parameters
such as COD, BOD and TOC. The dissolved natural carbon and inorganic constituents are
generally calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, alkali, iron, manganese, chloride, sulfate, and
bicarbonate (Christensen 1994).

The extent of these constituents varies profoundly between one landfill to another, with
average sulfate fixations running from 8 to 7750Mg/l, iron from 3 to 5500Mg/l, chloride from 150
to 4500 Mg/l and arsenic from 0.01 to 1Mg/l (Christensen 1994).

3.3 Landfill Leachate Migration

Leachate migration is also influenced by the way in which waste is stored. Compacted
waste has reduced permeability, but the layering of waste and topsoil in the site can create stream
ways through which leachate can flow (Reinhard 1984).

It was discovered by Christensen (2001) the length of time that rainwater can remain in a
landfill site varies from a couple of days to a few years. This is reflected in the transitory nature
of Leachate "springs", which can show up in wet seasons but vanish in dry seasons, leaving stained
soil. Because of this, assessments of leachate generation must focus periods towards the end of
wet seasons or after high periods of precipitation.

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Transport of contaminated leachate through the landfill to the groundwater and surface
water happens through two main methods: advection and hydrodynamic dispersion. Advection is
the mass of dissolved contaminant that is transported with the flow of groundwater (Frost 1977).
Thus, understanding of the groundwater stream directs the advection, whose rate and bearing relies
upon subsurface topography, geography, extraction wells, porosity and pressure driven
conductivity. Darcy's law can describe the average linear speed of advection migration: the
advective transport (Darcy's drainage speed) and mass flux are described by a 3-D stream by
expecting the solute to moves with the normal and adventive stream (Christensen 1994).

Dispersion is the flow of Leachate created by the mixing of liquids and the variability in
the substance and physical properties of the environment (Christensen 1994). Hydrodynamic
dispersion is the procedure of mechanical mixing and atomic dispersion which is impacted by
physical parameters, e.g hydraulic conductivity and porosity, that describe the penetrability of the
medium and therefor impact the speed of the solute (Li 1999).

One of the fate mechanism that causes hindrance on account of sorption, or increased
contaminant transport on account of desorption in groundwater streams, is sorption
(assimilation/adsorption or desorption) of contaminants onto or out of solid particles, e.g
residue (Reinhard 1984). In water treatment frameworks, contaminants may not be caught due to
sorption. The rate at which this occurs needs to be ascertained in order to assess the effectiveness
of the treatment and the real mass of contaminant present (Lin 2000).
Sorption may happen through particle trade; however, natural contaminants are not
adsorbed by particle trade, but rather by Van der Waals force and hydrophobic holding (Deng
2006). Sorption may be shown as being in equilibrium utilizing a balance isotherm model, or a
dynamic sorption model may be required if equilibrium is not reached (Christensen 2001).
However , J.Conroy (1993) observed that the metals may be bound to solids through cation
exchange, complex reactions, precipitation, or sorption. Retardation of metals will be essentially
influenced by pH, as this parameter controls the structure in which the metals will exist (Lopez
2004).

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Impact of leachate on Soil

4.1 Soil Contamination

Soil contamination is a result of either solid or liquid hazardous substances mixing with
the naturally occurring soil (Ismail et al. 2008). Leachate contamination may lead to significant
effects on the behaviour of soils due to chemical reactions between the soil mineral particles and
the contaminant (Sunil et al. 2009).

Leachate contaminated soils in Kuwait are a result of a lack of awareness of environmental

standards of selection, design, and management at the landfill sites. These sites are often selected
at lower ground locations that have previously been used as sand and gravel quarries, due to the
leveling of the ground and the normal soil surface. There sites are not carefully selected using
geological or environmental surveys, and the random land filling technique is often used without
application of waste separation techniques. The main disposal system commonly used in the state
of Kuwait is land filling (Al-Fares et al. 2009).

Al-Humoud (2001) revealed that household wastes make up 50% of the municipal solid
waste from the various residential districts in the Kuwait, followed by paper at 20.6%, then plastic
at 12.6%, and others components such as metals, glass, and textiles at 16%. The Kuwait
municipality (2009) reported that the municipal solid waste reached 552,991 tons per year.

Similarly, the report by Koushki (2004) revealed that 50% of the municipal solid waste
from the various residential districts in the Kuwait is the household wastes than 21% paper, 13%
plastic, 6% glass, and 10% metal respectively.

Al-Yaqout and Hamoda (2003) studied the chemical characteristics of the Al-Qurain
landfill leachate. The results showed high organic matter and heavy metal concentrations such as
TDS at about 9900Mg/l, COD at 8000Mg/l, Mg around 268Mg/l, Cu at 122Mg/l, and Zn at
4.8Mg/l. Similarly, Al-Muzaini (2006) reported that the leachate of Al-Qurain landfill site
produced high amount of hazardous and harmful contaminated leachate with pH value reaching
9.4.

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4.2 Consistency Limits

Attom and Al-Sharif (1998) attributed the reduction in the plasticity index (PI) of clayey
and silty sands to the addition of non-plastic material to the soil, with the non-plastic material
reducing the plasticity index of the new mixture. The increase in liquid limit (LL) and plastic
limit (PL) of contaminated clayey soils are mainly attributed to the increase in the double layer
thickness of clay minerals (Shah et al. 2003). In general, contaminants may alter the mechanics
of the consistency limits test when used for contaminated soils. The consistency limit tests were
originally developed for natural soil-water systems (Meegoda and Ratnaweera 1994).

Similarly, Sunil et al. (2009) reported that leachate-contaminated soil samples showed an
increase in the liquid limit and plasticity index values due to a change in nature of the pore fluid,
which is shown by an increase in the clay content of the specific surface area of the soil which
leads to high adsorption of water that changes the limit values.

4.3 Compaction Characteristics

In a study conducted by Sunil et al. (2008) on contaminated lithomargic clay soil with
leachate, the maximum dry unit weight (γ d, max ) decreased from an initial value of 15.89kN/m3 to
14.03kN/m3 and the optimum moisture content increased to 24.8% from an initial value of 20.1%
when the soil was mixed with 20% of leachate by weight.

Similarly, Nayak et al. (2007) noticed that the maximum dry density for lateritic soil is
15.47kN/m3 at an optimum moisture content of 19.52%. With the presence of leachate up to 5%,
the compaction characteristics did not change much. With 10% leachate the maximum dry unit
weight and optimum moisture content were 14.98kN/m3 and 25.01%. However, with a further
increase of leachate content up to 20% the compaction curve had an odd shape with inferior
characteristics.

A recent study carried out by Al-Fares (2011) on contaminated silty soil with leachate
shows a sudden drop of 0.4% in maximum dry unit weight when soil was mixed with
leachate by weight at 15% and increased in optimum moisture content by 22%.

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4.4 Strength Characteristics

Shear strength of a soil mass is the internal resistance per unit area that the soil mass can
offer to resist failure and sliding along any plane inside Das (1985). In soils generally the
relationship between stress and strain is non-linear, and volume changes develop from the applied
normal and shear stresses. The most commonly used strength theory is Mohr – Coulomb failure
criteria, which state that considered that a material fails because of a critical combination of normal
stress (σ) and shearing stress (τf). Thus, the functional relationship can be expressed as:
τf = c + σ tan ϕ (Eq. 2.1)

The τf = f (σ) in Eq. 2.1 according to Coulomb, shear strength τ f, is expressed in terms of
cohesion (c) and angle of friction (ϕ) on linear function.

Cohesion is defined as the bonding force between the fine-grained particles of a soil, and
is stressindependent. Due to the comparatively large components in waste, cohesion is mostly
interpreted as the interlocking of components in waste mechanics. Additionally, it is often defined
as apparent cohesion, which is caused by capillary forces. The friction angle is related to the
friction between the particles and is stress-dependent.

Sunil et al. (2009) carried out triaxial tests on clean lateritic soil, which was mixed with
leachate at increments of 5%, 10% and 20% by weight of soil. They found a slight increase in
cohesion and a decrease in friction angle as a result of leachate contamination for specimens tested.
The increase in clay content of lateritic soil after interaction with the leachate increased the
cohesion and decreased the friction angle.

In an investigation of the effect landfill leachate has on natural soil in Kuwait, AlFares
(2011) carried out direct shear tests on natural soil mixed with leachate and reported that the shear
strength parameters were dependent on the contaminated leachate content in the uncontaminated
soil. Their study showed an increase of cohesion from 10kPa to 17kPa for uncontaminated soil,
due to increases of leachate concentration up to 5% by weight of dry soil with no significant change
in the angle of friction. However, when the concentration of leachate increased up to 15% by
weight of dry soil the cohesion decreased to closely reach the cohesion of the clean soil with no
noticeable change in the angle of friction. Furthermore, the cohesion increased from 10 kPa to 22
kPa and the angle of friction slightly decreased from 35 degree to 34 degree due to 20% leachate
addition. However, Al-Fares (2011)

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Reddy et al. (2009) carried out direct shear tests on landfill MSW samples in the USA. The
samples had in-situ moisture content of 44% as well as being mixed with leachate at increments
of 60%, 80% and 100% by weight of soil. They observed that the cohesion of landfilled MSW
varied from 12–63kPa and the drained friction angle ranged from 31–35°. However they concluded
that there is no specific increase or decrease for the range of moisture content tested. Alsothey
concluded that there wasno specific correlation between shear strength and moisture content in the
tested landfill MSW samples.

4.5 Compressibility Characteristics

Compressibility of soil is defined as an increase of stress caused by construction of

foundation or other loads compresses soil layers (Das 1985). The compression is sometimes
caused by (a) deformation of soil particles. (b) Relocations of soil particles, and (c) expulsion of
water or air from the void space. In general, the soil settlement is caused by loads and may be
divided into three broad categories:

 Immediate settlement (or elastics settlement) which is caused by the elastic

deformation of dry soil. and of moist and saturated soils without any change in the moisture content

 Primary consolidation settlement which is the result of a volume change in

saturated cohesive soils because of the expulsion of the water that occupies the void spaces.

 Secondary consolidation settlement which is observed in saturated cohesive soils

and is the result of the plastic adjustment of soil fabrics. It is an additional to compression that
occurs at constant effective stress.
Hoeks (1983) showed the importance of the settlement of soil contaminated with leachate
within the landfill because it might be a cause of a number of problems to a closed landfill sites
like excessive differential settlement resulting in breakage of gas or leachate extraction pipes,
which may then result in a dangerous build-up of lowland gas or cause saturation of the waste
mass. Ojuri et al. (2012) studied the effect of high concentrations of heavy metals in the landfill
leachate on the behavior of clayey soil in Nigeria. Five specimens of clay soil mixed with nitrate
solution were tested in an oedometer apparatus for consolidation test with various concentrations
(0, 30, 60, 120 and 200 Mg/l) under constant pressure. The compression index and swelling index
(Cc and Cs) decreased with an increase in degree of nitrate contamination (0.46 and 0.0063, 0.43

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and 0.0060, 0.36 and 0.053, 0.28 and 0.041, and 0.24 and 0.037 for concentration of 0, 30, 60, 120
and 200 Mg/l respectively). The coefficient of consolidation “C v” increased with an increasing
degree of nitrate contamination (6.4, 8.12, 12.62, 15.914, and 18.86 cm2/sec respectively). This
implies that the soil compressed and rate of settlement are affected. These properties directly
influence the performance of shallow structural foundations.

Similarly Resmiet et al. (2011) focused in their study about the major contaminated
element in leachates caused from landfill sites and carried out the consolidation tests on
uncontaminated clayey soil with artificially fed lead nitrate. The soil samples soaked in various
lead solutions concentration (200, 500, 1000, and 2000 ppm) were kept in containers and left for
adsorption to take place, with occasional stirring. The results showed the values of the coefficient
of consolidation Cv increased with increasing sorbed concentration of lead.

4.6 Permeability Characteristics

Das (1985) explained the soil permeability as the ability of the soil to allow water/liquid to
flow through soil pores or voids.. The permeability can be used to classify the soil profile, high
permeability is seen in loose soil and low permeability is seen in dense soil. The permeability of
soil is one of the most important soil properties to geotechnical engineers, due to the factors stated
below:

 Permeability influences the rate of settlement of a saturated soil under load.

 The stability of slopes and retaining structures can be often depending on the
permeability of the soils concerned.
 Filters made of soils are designed based up on their permeability.

Nayak et al. (2007) reported that changes in soil structure occur after contamination with
leachate, with the void ratio of soil increasing when the pore water is replaced by leachate, as pore
fluid and the hydraulic conductivity raise as a result of dissolution of clay minerals by the leachate.

They studied the behaviour of interaction between uncontaminated lateritic soil mixed with
leachate in the amount of 5%, 10% and 20% by weight. The results showed an increase in the
permeability of soil that was mixed with 20% contaminated leachate to 50% mixture, which ranged
from 2.69x10-5 cm/s to 5.66x10-5 cm/s.

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Similarly, Sunil et al. (2008) observed that when 5% of contaminated leachate

concentration was mixed with lithomargic clay by weight, the hydraulic conductivity increased to
1.7x10-6cm/sec (6.25% increase compared with base value). At 10% leachate concentration the
hydraulic conductivity of the soil tested increased to 2.3x10 -6cm/sec (43.75% increase compared
with base value). Similarly when the soil was mixed with 20% leachate the increase in hydraulic
conductivity was about 75% when compared with the base value.
A recent experimental study carried out by Al-Fares (2011) on hydraulic conductivity of
leachate contaminated soil show that the permeability of natural silty sand that is mixed with
contaminated landfill leachate in different percentages by dry weight, increased as the leachate
concentration increased from 5.32x10-7 cm/sec to 1.32x10 -6cm/sec as the leachate concentration
increased from 0% leachate to 20% leachate.

Similarly Resmiet et al. (2011), noticed the increase of hydraulic conductivity of clayey
soil soaked in various lead solutions concentration (200, 500, 1000, and 2000) ppm as increase of
lead concentration (0.23, 0.28, 0.33, and 0.4) x10-7cm/s respectively.

In most of the studies presented during this literature review, the pH scale value of lowland
leachate was over 7.8 or 6; but several suggested that the powerfully acidic and powerfully basic
liquids will dissolve clay minerals and cause the destruction of soil structure. Moreover, Naidu
(1994) noticed that the rise of the pH scale value within the soil may influence the corrosion of
reinforcement.

4.7 Retention Mechanism in Contaminated Soil

Retention reactions in soils are important processes that govern the fate of chemical
contaminants such as heavy metals in groundwater (Kulikowska 2008). Substantial metal particles
may have lethal impacts on plants, creatures or people, and their poisonous quality is connected to
their mobility in soil. Heavy metal mobility relies on the properties of the soil (Trebouet 2001),
and the danger of these metals increases with increased mobility.

One critical procedure influencing substantial metal versatility in soil is sorption. Sorption
is the phenomenon in which metal particles, which normally bear a positive charge, are pulled in
to robust particles in the soil and natural matter which bear a negative charge (Kurniawan 2006).
This coupling is frequently reversible, and metals bound to the solids are in balance with metals in

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the soil water. This implies that strongly held metal particles are expelled from the soil water and
get less versatile than weakly held particles (Lyngkilde 1992).

It has long been felt that "heavy" soils, that is, high mud substance soils, have a tendency
to immobilize heavy metals. Because of this, waste disposal organisations feel safe when disposing
of their waste into clayey soils, providing they are managed by an environment body (Bolong
2009).

Harter (1983) and McBride (1979) reported that the retention of metals does not increase
until the pH is greater than seven. This effect is in part because of particular adsorption of the
hydrolyzed metal compared to the free metal particle. It was likewise indicated that the extent of
hydrolyzed metals builds with pH. For instance, hydrolysis of Cu happens at pH 6, Cd at pH 8,
Zn at pH 5.5. The other impact of pH is on adsorption locales, which are pH subordinate. As the
pH decreases, the amount of negative locales diminishes. In addition, as the pH gets more acidic,
metal cations need compete for the negatively charged locales.

An initial estimation of the adsorbents conduct is possible by a visual comparison of the

breakthrough curves. The breakthrough curves allow the discovering data including time required
to achieve most extreme adsorption, materials service time, the time it could be utilized before
substitution, and character of the breakthrough; fast or smooth. It can be noticed that all materials
adsorb different metals with similar patterns (Kalmykova 2004).

Kurniawan (2006) noticed that the concentrated on the sorption limit of copper, chromium,
lead, and cadmium through cluster balance investigates five types of soils (sand and sediment,
sandy) from Estonia. Two grams of the air-dried sample was added to each test tube along with 10
mL of the parent metal solution, after 16hrs of shaking at room temperature (21°C), the samples
were separated by centrifugation and analyzed. The results showed that the content of quartz and
carbonates influence of sorption capacity of soil, especially the cadmium and lead increased
attraction towards soils, as the content of carbonates and Manganese containing components
increased.

Du and Hayashi (2005) studied the potential sorption of heavy metals (Cd and Pb) on
Ariake clay. The results of the adsorption isotherm or equilibrium concentration and sorbed
concentration showed that with an increase in the solid - solution ratio, the amount of sorbed Cd
decreased and the equilibrium concentrations of Pb 2+ in the batch tests were found to be almost
zero, indirectly indicating that the Ariake clay has higher retention ability for Pb than Cd.

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Hatton and Pickering (1980) discovered that the quatity of metal ions sorbed by the solids
increased with increasing pH over the range 3 to 6 and with mixtures of claycellulose or illitehumic
acid. However, a reduction in adsorption of copper and zinc ions occurs when the samples were
mixed with Na+ to form kaolinite or montmorillonite.

Yong et al. (2001) reported that heavy metal concentration in the effluent of leachate
obtained from column test with four different types of soil from different location around South
Wales to the influent concentration of Pb, Cu, and Zn with no breakthrough for the four soils.
Furthermore, the permeability becomes constant or increases slightly with increasing of the pore
volume. They also reported that the pH values of the effluent for the soils between the range 7.5
and 9.5 that indicate all heavy metals were precipitated in the soil column.

Yong et al. (2001) examined the retention of the heavy metals (Pb, Cu, and Zn) in the three
soil types from South Wales. The leaching experiments were conducted under constant air pressure
of 10kPa. The column test was first saturated with distilled water for 2 pore volumes and then
saturated with leachate obtained from MSW landfill up to 5 pore volumes. The discharge leachate
was then collected and analyzed. The results showed that the retention of heavy metals in the three
soils was very high, with only a small breakthrough detected in the effluent following the 5 pore
volume of leaching with the test leachate.

Similarly, Zuhairi et al. (2008) conducted a study based on a previous leaching column test
suggested by Yong (2001) and Zuhairi (2000), which measured the retention of heavy metals (Pb,
Cu, Ni, and Zn) on three types of natural soils from Selangor area in Malaysia. The breakthrough
curves observed that the relative concentration of the heavy metals increased with the increasing
number of pore volumes, Ni and Zn were the most mobile heavy metals and sorption of heavy
metals was high.

Tan et al. (2006) noticed that the breakthrough curve can be defined as desorption or
mobility curve. The very acidic leachate showed good interaction with the natural pH soil
especially at the top part of the column test reported by Yong et al. (2001).

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4.8 Groundwater Contamination

The groundwater system is most at risk in areas that have a shallow water table and high
precipitation. Traditionally, several sites were designed on the principle of ‘dilute and disperse’,
where leachate was able to drain into nearby groundwater systems. While most of the analysis into
leachate plumes concentrates on these older sites and people in sensitive areas, containment sites
also show proof of leachate contamination of the groundwater with leachate plumes (Deutsch
1997).

Any receptors or groundwater abstraction points near the location need protection from the
potential pollution, and the water samples taken from the wells make sure any changes in material
concentration can be monitored. Leachate plumes may additionally be detected because of an
increase in groundwater temperature directly down gradient of the location as the degradation
process releases energy (MacFarlane et al. 1983).

Most contamination plumes are small and do not exceed the dimension of the landfills,
indicating temperature change as the primary mode of mass transport. The natural attenuation
capability of the encompassing sediment could limit the impact of the plume to an area of 1000m
or less (Johnson et al. 1999).

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MATERIALS & METHODS

5.1 Soil Properties

Soil samples for this study were collected from the Al-Jahra landfill site. The landfill site
is situated about 4 km south-west of Kuwait city as shown in Figure 3.2. The strata of the Al-Jahra
area are formed mainly by two types of soil; silty sand and clayey sand, samples of which were
obtained from a previous investigation undertaken by a private company (Jeragh 2009, 2012).
Since 1986, about two square kilometer of land area has been used as a waste disposal site in
AlJahra.
This landfill site primarily consists of a non-engineered deserted sand quarry.

Fig 5.1 The map of Al-Jahra landfill site

The Al-Jahra site was decommissioned in April 2006. According to the Kuwait
Municipality, (Personal Communication 2008), this landfill site was reactivated in August 2007
by the Kuwait Municipality. However, the waste that was dumped at this site was not disposed of
in properly designed landfills. A need to assess the environmental impact of the Al-Jahra dumpsite
then emerged in order to avoid the likely negative contaminant migration that is likely to affect the
residents living in the areas close to the dumpsite.

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The current research will play an important role as it will offer crucial details needed to
help the decision-making process in the re-development aims of the site, which will ensure the
safeguarding of groundwater resources, public well-being and the surrounding area in general.

The soil profile of the Al-Jahra site is presented in Figure 3.3. Four boreholes were
excavated to understand the underlying soil type and formation. The first layer (top 5 to 6m) of
soil was full of contaminated soil. The second layer was about 3m deep and was composed of very
dense fine to medium clayey sand. The relative densities of the soil were defined by using the
result of a 63.5kg hammer stroke falling through a distance of 0.76 cm over the depth (Jeragh
2009). The third layer was 2.0m deep and consisted of fine to medium silty and clayey sand. The
fourth layer was comprised of approximately 3.0m of very dense clayey sand. The water table
was about 18.5m below the ground surface.

Fig. 5.2 Soil conditions at Al-Jahra site

The soils used in the experiment were natural soils obtained from test pits of 0.5 to 3 m
depth of the Al-Jahra landfill boundary. Al-Fares (2011) reported that the collected samples from
the AlJahra landfill boundary were uncontaminated. The soils were classified at the civil
engineering laboratories of Kuwait University following the ASTM standards described below.

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5.2 Particle Size Distribution

To obtain the particle size distribution of the soil samples, the procedure suggested by
ASTM D422 (2007a) was followed. The tests were carried out using 398.1g of washed silty sand
and 758.7g of washed clayey sand. ASTM standard sieves of No 4, 10, 100, 200 were used.

5.3 Compaction

The maximum dry density and optimum moisture content of the soils were determined
using the modified Proctor test (ASTM D1557 2012a). Soils were compacted into equal five layers
(25 blows/layer) using a 2.5 kg hammer dropped from 304.5mm height at predetermined moisture
contents. The variation of dry density against the moisture content was plotted for determining the
compaction properties.

5.4 Atterberg Limits

The Atterberg limits refer to a set of index tests performed on soils to determine the relative
activity of the soils and their relationship to moisture content (ASTM D4318 2010a). The liquid
limit, is defined as the level of moisture content at which soil begins to behave as a liquid material
and starts to flow. The liquid limit was determined using liquid limit apparatus of ASTM D4318
(2010a).

The plastic limit, which represents the degree to which puddled or reworked soil can be
permanently deformed without rupturing, was carried out using the method of ASTM D4318
(2010a), where a thread of soil was rolled on a glass plate.

5.5 Field Density

The field density of the Al-Jahra soil was determined at the investigation site according to
the sand–cone method of ASTM D1556 (2007b). The cone was filled with Ottawa sand, which is
defined as uniform in density and grading, uncemented, durable, and free-flowing silica sand
passed through No.20 U.S. sieve and retained on No.30 conformed by ASTM standard, and then
weighed. The dry unit weigh of the soil in the field was determined in terms of Mg/m3.

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5.6 Natural Moisture Content

The water content of a given soil is defined as the ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the
mass of dry soil and water content. In line with ASTM D2216 (2010b), the moisture content was
determined as a percentage of the quotient of the mass of water and the dry mass of sample.

 Specific Gravity

The specific gravity (Gs) of the soil was determined using the standard pycnometer method
ASTM C128 (2012b). The specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the mass of a unit volume of
a material to the mass density of distilled water at a stated temperature.

 Chemical Characterisation

The chemical characteristics of the Al-Jahra soil are described below in terms of the pH
value and organic matter content.

 pH Value

The pH value of soil was determined using Electrometric method BS 1377 part 1 (1990).
Three readings of pH were taken after stirring the suspension each time and recorded.

 Organic Matter

The organic matter content of the soil was determined using the method of BS 1377 (1990).
The organic matter of the soil was determined as the percentage loss in soil mass when the soil
was combusted in a muffle oven.

 Leachate

The leachate used in the experiment was collected from the Al-Qurain landfill located
about 15 km south-east of Kuwait city as shown in Figure 3. Al-Fares (2011) reported that due to
the absence of a collection system of leachate in the Kuwait landfills, the Al-Qurain landfill is the
only source of real leachate in Kuwait. The AlQurain landfill was closed in 1985 due to complaints
from residents and the waste then placed in the Al-Jahra landfill, 7th ring road and Al-Sulaibiya

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landfills (AlMuzaini 2006). The Kuwait environmental public authority initiated a project to
rehabilitation the Al-Qurian landfill in 1999 by equipping the site with an active landfill gas
ventilation system and plant for leachate collection and pre-treatment (Al-Ahamd et al. 2012).

Figure 3.4: Map of Al-Qurain landfill site (Al-Muzaini 2006)

The Al-Jahra landfill is still running with two new landfills opened recently as other sites
were closed. The leachate samples that will be used in this study have been collected from the
pond facility of Al-Qurain landfill using clean glass bottles then tightly sealed and kept in an
icebox. The samples were then transported to the laboratory and kept in the refrigerator at 4ᵒCprior
to using in the study.

5.7 Chemical Characterisation

The chemical properties of the leachate analyzed in this study are: pH, total dissolved solids
(TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total organic

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carbon (TOC), electrical conductivity (EC), chloride content (Cl −), alkalinity content and heavy
metals. The American Public Health Association (APHA) standard was followed for analysis of
leachate samples in the Chemical Engineering department laboratories (CED) at Kuwait
University. The selections of the chemical tests were based as per CED recommendation.

 pH Value

The pH value of leachate was determined using the Electrometric method following APHA
4500B (2005). The pH electrode was immersed in the sample beaker. The pH reading was recorded
once the reading stabilized.

 Total Dissolved Solid

The dissolved solid (TDS) of contaminated leachate was measured following APHA
2540C (2005). The TDS was calculated in terms of Mg/l as the loss in leachate mass occurred
when the leachate was dehydrated in a furnace at 180ᵒC

 Chemical Oxygen Demand

The chemical oxygen demand (COD), defined as the amount of a specified oxidant that
reacts with the sample under controlled conditions, was calculated using APHA 5220B (2005).
The COD was determined in terms of Mg O 2/l when the color of titrated solution changed from
bluegreen to reddish brown.

 Biological Oxygen Demand

The biological oxygen demand (BOD) is used to determine the relative oxygen
requirements of wastewaters, effluents and polluted waters that are useful in evaluating the BOD
removal efficiency of such treatment systems. It measures the molecular oxygen utilized during a
specified incubation period for the biochemical degradation of organic and inorganic material.
The BOD was measured following APHA 5210B (2005). The BOD was calculated in units of Mg/l
after 5 days of incubation period at 20ᵒC.

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5.8 Total Organic Carbon

The total organic carbon (TOC) was measured following APHA 5310B (2005). The sample
was transferred to an auto sampler vial of the TOC analyzer apparatus called SHIMADZU.V and
20µl of the sample was injected in the apparatus. TOC concentration was read directly from the
analyzer apparatus.

 Electrical Conductivity

The electrical conductivity (EC) is used to measure the ability of an aqueous solution to
carry an electric current. The EC was determined using a conductivity cell containing a platinized
electrode and following APHA 2510B (2005).

 Chloride Content

The chloride content (Cl -) was measured using APHA 4500B (2005). The Cl - was determined in
terms of Mg/l when the color of titrated solution changed to a pinkish yellow end point.

 Alkalinity Content

The alkalinity content was determined using APHA 2320B (2005). The total alkalinity
was calculated as per Mg of CaCO3/mL as the pH value of sample reached 4.5.

 Heavy Metals

The heavy metals content was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass

Spectrometry (ICP-MS) using method APHA 3125B (2005). The heavy metals were determined
as per Mg/l in the ICP-MS after the leachate was refluxed and heated at 95ᵒC.

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GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES

6.1 Soil Properties

The soils used in this investigation were natural soils from Kuwait. The soils were obtained
from test pits of 0.5 to 3 m deep, taken from locations that were 1 to 3 meters away from the Al-
Jahra landfill boundary.

 Particle Size Distribution

The particle size distribution of the Al-Jahra soils is shown in Figure 4.1. The collected
soils were mainly composed of sand without any gravel. The grain size distribution curves indicate
the percentage of the fine particles (passed through a 63µm sieve) in the soils are about 10% and
26% for soils S1 and S2, respectively.

The fine particles below 75µm were not measured due to unavailability of the necessary
facilities at the Kuwait university laboratory. The particles size distributions for the soils are
summarized in Table 4.1.

Fig: 6.1: Particle size distribution of the chosen Al- Jahra soils

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Table 6.1: The grain size distribution of the soils

Percent Passing Soil Group

Sieve Openings (mm)
Sand Silt and
Soil Gravel Clay

4.75 2 0.85 0.150 0.075

0.425 (%)

S1 100 97.47 87 63.07 16.27 10.89 0 89.11 10.89

S2 100 98.94 92.16 75.33 37.36 26.27 0 73.73 26.27

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Fig: 6.1.1: Plasticity chart

 Soil classification

The soils are classified according to the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) as
ecommended by the ASTM D2487 (2006). The classifications are based on Atterberg limits and
particle size distribution. Soil classification is based on the fine contents percentage, coefficient of
uniformity (Cu), and the coefficient of curvature (Cc).

The calculation of the Cu and Cc values and the classification results of the soil samples
are summarized in Table 4.2. The parameters of Cc and Cu were not calculated for the soil S2 if
the fine particles were greater than 12%, as recommend by UCCS.

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Table; 6.1.1. The soil classification

Soil F 200 D60 D30 D10 Cu Cc Atterberg limits Soil

(%) LL PL PI Classification

S1 10.89 0.4 0.21 0.075 5.3 1.3 Non - Plastic SP-SM

S2 26.27 - - - - - 28 19 9 SC

From Table 4.2, the soil S1 can be classified as poorly graded silty sand. The soil S2 can be
classified as clayey sand. These are in general agreement with findings of Jeragh (2009, 2012).

 Compaction

The compaction characteristics of the soils are presented in Figure 4.3. In the case of silty
sand the maximum dry density of 2.03 Mg/m 3 is observed at the optimum moisture content of
8.5%, while for the clayey sand the maximum dry density is 2.06 Mg/m3 at the optimum moisture
content of about 10%.

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Figure; 6.1.2 Compaction curves of the soil used

It can be seen that the compaction curves for silty sand and clayey sand are clearly
defined single peak compaction curves. The maximum dry density for the silty sand and clayey
sand showed no significant different.

 Field Density

The field densities of the natural soil samples were measured as 1.8 Mg/m 3 using the
method detailed in section 3.2.4. The field density refers to the actual density of the soil at the site.
In this research the field density results was used for preparing soil specimens in order to mimic
the field conditions which stands out as the key consideration of the study.

 Natural Moisture Content

The natural moisture contents of the silty sand and the clayey sand were calculated as 2.9%
and 3.4%, respectively. The natural moisture contents were determined using the method detailed
in section 3.2.5. The natural moisture contents were used to achieve the field conditions in the
prepared soil specimens.

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 Specific Gravity

The specific gravity (Gs) of the silty sand and the clayey sand were determined as 2.65 and
2.67 respectively, using the method detailed in section 3.2.6.

6.2 Chemical Characterisation

The basic chemical characterisation of the silty sand and the clayey sand was obtained from
(AlFares 2009; Jeragh 2009), as shown in the Table 4.3.
The pH values of the soils are strongly alkaline which can be attributed to high calcium
arbonate content present in the soils (Ismael et al. 1986). The total organic contentnof the soils are
very low; less than 1%. Caravaca and Albaladejo (1999) and Ismael et al. (1986) reported that the
semiarid climatologic characteristics (low rainfall and high temperature) could be reducing the
input of the organic matter.

Table; 6.2.1 : Chemical characterization of Al-Jahra soil

Calcium Carbonate Organic Matter

Soil Type pH
(%) (%)

Silty sand 8.49 8.37 0.027

Clayey sand 9.58 7.16 0.039

 Chemical Characterisation of the Leachate Used

The results of the chemical analysis of the leachate obtained from Al-Qurain landfill site
which was used in this study, is listed in Table 4.4.

Table 4.4 shows that the pH value of the leachate is 8.37, which is alkalinity and can reduce
the mobility of the heavy metals. The concentrations of chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni)
and Arsenic (As) are significant indicating the severity of toxic metals in the leachate. This aspects
forms the main issue of the investigation.

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Table; 6.2.2: Chemical analysis of the leachate sample

Parameters Results Parameters Results

pH 8.37 Phosphate (PO34−) 31.705 ppm

35591 ppm
Electrical Conductivity (EC) 14.63 ms/cm Sulphate (SO42−)

13421.7 µg/l
Total dissolved solids (TDS) 11704 Mg/l Boron (B)

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) 1670 Mg/l Titanium (Ti) 829.49 µg/l

Biochemical oxygen demand < 0.01 µg/l

(BOD) 780 Mg/l Vanadium (V)

292.53 µg/l
Total organic carbon (TOC) 530 Mg/l Chromium (Cr)

Total chlorine (Cl) 0.18 Mg/l Cobalt (Co) 26.144 µg/l

Alkalinity 400 Mg/l Nickel (Ni) 164.74 µg/l

Chloride (Cl-) 1730 Mg/l Copper (Cu) 129.57 µg/l

Calcium (Ca) 323.24 Mg/l Zinc (Zn) 132.76 µg/l

Iron (Fe) 4.38 Mg/l Germanium (Ge) 15.012 µg/l

Potassium (K) 449.52 Mg/l Arsenic (As) 351.26 µg/l

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Magnesium (Mg) 125.25 Mg/l Silver (Ag) 4.7504 µg/l

Manganese (Mn) 0.1 Mg/l Cadmium (Cd) < 0.01 µg/l

Sodium (Na) 3804.77 Mg/l Mercury (Hg) < 5 µg/l

5.1828 µg/l
Strontium (Sr) 2.98 Mg/l Lead (Pb)

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Treatment of Leachate

Currently, the most widely used method of Leachate treatment is re-infusion and release
into a municipal water treatment facility (Christensen 1994). This method is effective in that it
increases the rate of leachate deterioration and creates landfill gas (Christensen 1994). This
decreases the overall volume of leachate, but unfortunately also condenses the contaminants inside
the fluid (Lopez 2004). The landfill gas created presents an opportunity though, as its primary
constituents are methane and carbon dioxide, meaning it can be used as a fuel asset (Renou 2008).

Leachate is also released into to local watercourses, but due to restrictions placed on the
chemical composition of the leachate released this way, it must be pretreated first (Li 1999).
Leachate can be dealt with on-site or transported to specialist treatment facilities (Christensen
1994). Treatment normally involves using activated sludge to break up the organic substances, but
in many cases is still not environmentally safe at this stage so is transported to neighborhood
sewers (Christensen 1994).

To effectively address the issue of leachate treatment, it is important to also deal with old
and neglected landfill sites that were constructed before proper regulations were put in place, and
therefor lack an impermeable covering (Deng 2006). These old sites can have a large impact on
the soil as they can contain a variety of manufactured and natural types of matter, whose
deterioration creates considerable contamination (Lopez 2004).
The organic methods of deterioration can take up to 40 years after the site is closed, giving
rise to exceedingly contaminated leachate due to the permeation of precipitation (Christensen
2001).

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PHOTO GALLERY

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CONCLUSIONS

 The key objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of landfill leachate on the
uncontaminated soil and the surrounding environment of Kuwait.
 The findings presented in this thesis are considered in terms of the influence of leachate on
both geotechnical and geoenvironmental properties of soils.
 The study focused on the Al-Jahra site, the largest open landfill site in Kuwait, as the way
the waste is disposed of in this site leading to contamination of the surrounding clean soils
and the groundwater. Two natural soils (a silty sand and a clayey sand) were selected for
the study that represent the common soils in the Al-Jahra city region and are also more
broadly represent the common soils of Kuwait. The leachate was obtained from the Al-
Qurain landfill site as this is the only source of leachate in Kuwait, as reported by Al-Fares
(2011).
 The basic physical properties of the soils were determined by standard laboratory methods
prior to the main testing program.
 The interaction between the soils and the fluids (water and leachate) was investigated by
considering three different specimen preparation methods.
 The first method was to mix the soil with leachate at increments of 0%, 10%, 20%, and
40% by the weight of the soils; this is a traditional method and is usually used to measure
the positive or negative influence of the moisture. The second method consisted of soil
specimens being inundated with leachate or water to simulate realistic interaction between
different fluids and the soils. The third method involved submerging specimens in the
different fluids until chemical equilibrium was reached to simulate the long-term case when
leachate has passed through the soil and the soil has returned to dry conditions.
 After the soil specimens were prepared using the methods described above, the
geotechnical properties (shear strength and compressibility), and the geo-environmental
properties (adsorption and retention) of the soils were determined. A detailed study was
undertaken to investigate the effect of the leachate on the bearing capacity and settlement
of the soils at the Al-Jahra site. The soil column test data (adsorption and retention) were
used to verify the efficiency of HYDRUS 1D model.

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 Nowadays the harmful effect of leachate is seen overall in India. Leachate generated from
the Chikhli MSW uncontrolled landfill site demonstrated that it was in its methanogen
phase with intermediate biodegradability, slightly alkaline pH with high concentrations of
NH3- N and heavy metals.
 As LPI is a very useful method to identify the leachate pollution potential of different
landfills, LPI value of 34.02 for the active dumping ground and 31.80 for the closed
dumping ground at Chikhli, Kolkata implies that the dumping grounds were highly
unsterilized and hazardous largely exceeding the LPI value for the leachate disposal
standards (7.378) for the inland surface water. The sub-LPI scores of the active dumping
ground, LPIor, 53.09; LPIin, 51.73 and LPIhm,16.37 and closed dumping ground, LPIor,
46.74; LPIin, 48.57 and LPIhm, 16.46 indicated that the values are much higher than the
leachate disposal standard values of 7.03 , 6.57 and 7.89 respectively for inland surface
water. As per the individual pollution rating, the major pollutants identified in the Chikhli
active and closed dumping grounds were TCB, TKN, NH 3- N and Hg. High values of
LPIor were majorly due to the abundance of TCB which indicated sanitary and
epidemiological hazard. High LPIin values were due to the high concentrations of TKN
and NH3- N which showed the vulnerability of the surrounding groundwater aquifers and
the moderate values of LPIhm were mainly due to the presence of Hg, one of the priority
hazardous substances which undergoes bio-accumulation and bio magnification.
 Necessary remedial action should be taken to meet the discharge standards before leachate
is being properly disposed in the Chikhli landfill site. Immediate attention is required as
leachate pose threat to the surrounding ecosystems and human health. Regular monitoring
is essential to avoid the contamination of the sub-surface and adjacent aquatic
environment. Leachate treatment processes should also be encouraged to mitigate further
environmental problems. Moreover an engineered sustainable sanitary landfill site should
be designed for solid waste dumping as the life span of the existing uncontrolled landfill
site at Chikhli is almost exhausted.

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References

Abdal, M. and Al-Qallaf, M. 1993. Water management for the greenery of Kuwait. Acta
Horticultural, Irrigation of Horticulturae Crop., 335, pp.95-100.

Al-Ahmad, M., Dimashki, M., Nassou, A. & Nelles, M. 2012. Characterization, Concentrations
and Emission Rates of Volatile Organic Compounds from Two Major Landfill Sites in Kuwait.
American Journal of Environmental Sciences, 8(1), pp.56-63.

Al-Awadi, F. 1998. Training Course on Freshwater Quality and Treatments. Kuwait: Kuwait
Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

Al-Awadi, F. 1998. Training Course on Freshwater Quality and Treatments. Kuwait: Kuwait
Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

Al-Barak, K.M..A.-R.F.M.a.A.-S.M. 2008. Assessment of Utilization of Groundwater for

AlRawda Mosques - Kuwait. Journal of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies, 34(130), pp.1153.

Al-Fares, R. 2011. Efffect of Leachate-Soil interaction on shear strength, perambility, compaction

and chemical characteristics. Environmental systems, 32(4), pp.227-97.

Al-Fares, R., Abdelsalam, Z. & Al-Jarallah, R. 2010. An initial pilot scale investigation of Al-
Jahra waste disposal site using electrical resistivity (ER) surveys. Kuwait J.Sci. Eng., 37(2B),
pp.25-42.

Alhassan, M. 2012. Effect of municipal soild waste on geotechincal properties of

soils.International Journal of Environmental Science, Management and Engineering Research,
1(5), pp.204 - 210.

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Site photo

Landfill site

Landfill site

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Landfill site

Landfill site

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Landfill site

Landfill site

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PERSONAL INFORMATION

PROJECT GUIDE

PROF. AMOL N. PATOLE

At. Post – Pimpalgaon Sarai

Tq. Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 9763308616

e-mail: [email protected]

PROJECT BATCH

MR. KAIWALYA G. MAHAJAN

At. Post – Chikhli.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7276077715

e-mail:- [email protected]

MR. UMESH R. DAGWAL

At. Post – Chikhli.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7558213161

e-mail:- [email protected]

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MR. RUSHIKESH B. HAWARE

At. Post – Sawana.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7057703277

e-mail:- [email protected]

MR. RUSHIKES N. DESHMANE

At. Post – Raipur

Tq. Dist. Buldana

Mob No.: 7709531814

e-mail:- [email protected]

MR. ABHIJEET D. DESHMUKH

At. Post – Chikhli.

Tq. Chikhli, Dist. Buldana

Mob No. : 7248984000

e-mail:- [email protected]

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