Effect of Municipal Solid Waste Disposal on the Engineering Properties of Soil from a Non-Engineered Landfill

Abstract

The presents study showed the effect of open dumping on soil characteristics and biodegradation settlement analysis of soil in non-engineered landfill. The contaminated soil is referred to as waste soil which has different settlement rates due to the various categories and complex characteristics of waste. The degradation of waste causing percolation of leachate into soil affecting the strength and stability of soil. This paper includes the analysis of geotechnical properties and settlement analysis of waste soil and its comparison was done with natural soil. The geochemical analysis was carried out by Energy Dispersive X- Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The elemental analysis of soil exhibited presence of high oxygen and silica content in uncontaminated soil. The analysis depicted that specific gravity, maximum dry density (MDD), permeability and California bearing ratio (CBR) showed decreasing trend variation for polluted soil. It was observed that cohesion for contaminated soil was found to be increased thereby increasing the shear strength of soil. Additionally, temperature, pH and moisture content hold a significant position for assessing the settlement. The settlement of soil due to biodegradation of MSW is estimated using empirical mathematical model for dump site depending upon pH, moisture content and temperature. Additionally, settlement is evaluated keeping in view the settlement due to biodegradation of MSW on soil, which further helped in determination of the suitability of the site for the construction and other recreational purposes.