Modelling of nitrogen release from MBT waste

The “LaNDy” model (landfill nitrogen dynamics model) is a new mathematical tool for the evaluation of the long-term behaviour of nitrogen in mechanical-biologically pretreated (MBP) waste. LaNDy combines a hydraulic model based on RICHARD’s equation with one-dimensional heat flow in landfills, kinetics of biological degradation, gas diffusion, nitrification and denitrification. A suitable temperature-dependent N mineralisation sub-model was based on numerous data from the literature and own LSR-experiments. With the “nitrification modus” of the LaNDy model, kinetic data of nitrification, thermodynamic data of denitrification and diffusion characteristics of gaseous components (especially of oxygen and methane) are used as an additional input for the preliminary calculation of the long-time impact of nitrification and denitrification. Examples of predicted temperature distribution and leachate ammonium concentrations, using different landfill size, age of the landfill (10 to ≈100 a) and hydraulic conductivity of the MBP waste, are presented in this paper.