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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/M34256/01
Title: CONTROL OF LEACHATE IN LANDFILLS BY PUMPING FROM VERTICAL WELLS
Principal Investigator: Powrie, Professor W
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Cleanaway Ltd Shanks & McEwan W J Groundwater Ltd
Department: School of Civil Eng and The Environment
Organisation: University of Southampton
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 February 1999 Ends: 30 June 2002 Value (£): 203,396
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Waste Management
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Environment
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The potential for a landfill to pollute the environment is likely to remain for many decades after the tipping of refuse has ceased. One of the main potential pollution pathways is the leakage of leachate through the base and/or sides. Operators generally seek to prevent this by pumping leachate from vertical wells to control leachate levels within the landfill, but often meet with only limited success because well yields are very low.The reasons for the apparent ineffectiveness of vertical wells in waste are uncertain, but may include disturbance to the formation during drilling (eg milling and/or smearing of the waste); poor filter pack and wellscreen design; clogging of the filter pack or wellscreen; the generally low permeability of wastes; interference between gas and liquid phases within the waste; large drawdowns which may reduce the thickness of waste available for flow; and a reduction in waste permeability near the well due to increased effective stresses. An additional problem is that there is considerable uncertainty concerning the meaning, measurement and interpretation of the term leachate level, not least because of the effects of waste heterogeneity and landfill gas. It is these issues that the proposed research will address.
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Organisation Website: http://www.soton.ac.uk