Application of simulation models to the diagnosis of MSW landfills: an example.

Among the landfill simulation programs being developed by several research groups around the world as tools for the management of sanitary landfills is MODUELO, whose second version, MODUELO 2, has been presented elsewhere. It reproduces the operational history of the landfill and its hydrologic and biodegradation processes, allowing the estimation of the flow and pollutants emitted in the leachate and the generated landfill gas over time. This program has been used for a diagnosis study of an existing European MSW landfill.

Modelling for environmental assessment of municipal solid waste landfills (part II: biodegradation).

The biodegradation module of a simulation program for municipal solid waste landfills (MODUELO) was developed. The biodegradation module carries out the balance of organic material starting with the results of the hydrologic simulation and the waste composition. It simulates the biologic reactions of hydrolysis of solids and the gasification of the dissolved biodegradable material.

Modelling for environmental assessment of municipal solid waste landfills (part 1: hydrology).

A three-dimensional dynamic simulation program for the prediction of leachate flows, their organic contamination and the gas generated in municipal waste landfills, (MODUELO) has been developed. It permits the simulation of canyon landfills in which the surface area changes throughout the landfill's history and of complex drainage systems. The "hydrologic module" calculates, based on the saturated flow equations, the water flow between cells and the overall moisture balance.