Análise do desempenho de um solo compactado utilizado na camada de cobertura de um aterro sanitário.

Abstract

One of the forms of treatment of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is the landfill, which has the advantages of ease of operation, lower cost when compared to other techniques (sorting, biological treatment, incineration, among others) and the existence of a continuous monitoring plan. The landfill uses a final cover layer of compacted soil to isolate residues from the external environment, minimize the entry of water into the landfill, reduce the emission of gases into the atmosphere, prevent the proliferation of rodent and vectors of disease, among others. The Brazilian Regulations do not regulate the type of soil to be used, nor techniques for implementing layers of landfills, nor the form of monitoring, having as sole requirement the attendance of a minimum coefficient of water permeability. The objective of this work is to analyze the performance of the compacted soil used in the final cover layer of a landfill, with the Landfill Campina Grande/PB as an experimental field. The physical characterization of the soil used in the layer, verification of its parameters regarding the feasibility for use in landfills, physical-chemical and mineralogical analysis, obtaining the water retention curve in the soil and analysis of the experimental points of the curve were performed adjustments proposed in the literature. The behavior of the soil was verified in relation to the wetting/drying and swell/contraction processes, observation of the relation between the optimum compaction humidity and the Generalized Air Entry (GAE), besides the verification of soil moisture variation in one experimental profile of the cover layer by means of capacitive sensors. The results showed that the soil has permeability to water admissible for use in landfills according to national and international standards. The adjustment of the Van Genuchten curve to the experimental points of the retention curve met the conditions of agreement from the statistical parameters analyzed. The optimum soil compaction humidity has a value close to GAE, where soil desaturation begins, in which the air begins to enter the larger pores formed by water drainage and moisture loss. Soil compaction must be carried out in normal proctor energy by adding sufficient water to achieve optimum moisture, within an acceptable range of ± 2%. It can be concluded that the type of final cover layer (compacted clay soil) used is unsuitable for the landfill region due to the climatological characteristics to which the soil is subjected and the absence of surface vegetation protection. The application of normal proctor energy to soil compaction of the landfill cover layer provides favorable conditions for the reduction of soil water permeability. The water retention curve in the soil of the final cover layer of the landfill presents unimodal behavior and has characteristics of a clay soil. The use of capacitive sensors proved to be an effective technique for automatic acquisition of soil moisture and verification of its variation over time, as well as the monitoring of suction by the thickness of the final cover layer of compacted soil.