The objective of this study is to assess impacts of sorption heterogeneity on the transport of leachate leaked from unlined landfill sites and is accomplished by examining the results from a series of Monte-Carlo simulations. For random distribution c...
The objective of this study is to assess impacts of sorption heterogeneity on the transport of leachate leaked from unlined landfill sites and is accomplished by examining the results from a series of Monte-Carlo simulations. For random distribution coefficient ($K_{d}$) fields with four different levels of heterogeneity ranging from homogeneous to highly heterogeneous, the transport of leachate was investigated by linking a saturated flow model with a contaminant transport model. Impacts of a chemical heterogeneity were evaluated using point statistics values such as mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation of the concentration obtained at monitoring wells from 100 Monte-Carlo trials. Inspection of point statistics shows that the distribution of distribution coefficient in the landfill site proves to be an important parameter in controlling leachate concentrations. In comparison to homogeneous sorption, heterogeneous $K_{d^-}$ fields produce the variability in the leachate concentration for different realizations. The variability increases significantly as the variance in the $K_{d^-}$ field and the travel time between source and monitoring well increase. These outcomes indicate that use of a constant homogeneous $K_{d}$ value for predicting the transport of leachate can result in significant error, especially when variability in $K_{d}$ is high.