Numerical Model for Leaching and Transporting Behavior of Radiocesium in MSW Landfill

H. Ishimori[1], K. Endo[2], H. Sakanakura[2], M. Yamada[2], M. Osako[2]
[1]Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan
[2]National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Published in 2013

This paper presents the numerical simulation model for radiocesium leaching and transporting behavior in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill and discusses on the design for the required geometry and properties of the impermeable final cover and the soil sorption layer, which work for containment of hazardous waste such as radiocesium-contaminated MSW generated by Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The leaching behavior of the radiocesium from the waste was formulated based on the results of serial batch leaching tests, and the soil sorption was formulated using the nonequilibrium liner kinetics. In consideration of the leaching and soil sorption phenomena of radiocesium, COMSOL Multiphysics® can solve the advection-dispersion governing equation predict the fate of the radiocesium that was leached from the landfilled radiocesium-contaminated MSW.