Periodic injection of liquefied kitchen and food waste in municipal solid waste: Effects on leachate and gas generation.

With continuous advancements in the zero-waste strategy in China, transportation of fresh municipal solid waste to landfills has ceased in most first-tier cities. Consequently, the production of landfill gas has sharply declined because the supply of organic matter has decreased, rendering power generation facilities idle. However, by incorporating liquefied kitchen and food waste (LKFW), sustainable methane production can be achieved while consuming organic wastewater. In this study, LKFW and water (as a control group) were periodically injected into high and low organic wastes, respectively. The biochemical characteristics of the resulting gas and leachate were analyzed. LKFW used in this research generated 19.5-37.6 L of methane per liter in the post-methane production phase, highlighting the effectiveness of LKFW injection in enhancing the methane-producing capacity of the system. The release of H2S was prominent during both the rapid and post-methane production phases, whereas that of NH3 was prominent in the post-methane production phase. As injection continued, the concentrations of chemical oxygen demand, 5-d biological oxygen demand, total organic carbon, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen, and oil in the output leachate decreased and eventually reached levels comparable to those in the water injection cases. After nine rounds of injections, the biologically degradable matter of the two LKFW-injected wastes decreased by 8.2 % and 15.1 %, respectively. This study sheds light on determining the organic load, controlling odor, and assessing the biochemical characteristics of leachate during LKFW injection.

Monitoring the remediation of groundwater polluted by MSW landfill leachates by activated carbon and zeolite with spectral induced polarization technique.

The municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill in Hangzhou, China utilized zeolite and activated carbon (AC) as permeable reactive barrier (PRB) fill materials to remediate groundwater contaminated with MSW leachates containing ammonium, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and heavy metals. The spectral induced polarization (SIP) technique was chosen for monitoring the PRB because of its sensitivity to pore fluid chemistry and mineral-fluid interface composition. During the experiment, authentic groundwater collected from the landfill site was used to permeate two columns filled with zeolite and AC, and the SIP responses were measured at the inlet and outlet over a frequency range of 0.01-1000 Hz. The results showed that zeolite had a higher adsorption capacity for COD (7.08 mg/g) and ammonium (9.15 mg/g) compared to AC (COD: 2.75 mg/g, ammonium: 1.68 mg/g). Cation exchange was found to be the mechanism of ammonium adsorption for both zeolite and AC, while FTIR results indicated that π-complexation, π-π interaction, and electrostatic attraction were the main mechanisms of COD adsorption. The Cole-Cole model was used to fit the SIP responses and determine the relaxation time (τ) and normalized chargeability (mn). The calculated characteristic diameters of zeolite and AC based on the Schwarz equation and relaxation time (τ) matched the pore sizes observed from SEM and MIP, providing valuable information on contaminant distribution. The mn of zeolite was positively linear with adsorbed ammonium (R2 = 0.9074) and COD (R2 = 0.8877), while the mn of AC was negatively linear with adsorbed ammonium (R2 = 0.8192) and COD (R2 = 0.7916), suggesting that mn could serve as a surrogate for contaminant saturation. The laboratory-based real-time non-invasive SIP results showed good performance in monitoring saturation and provide a strong foundation for future field PRB monitoring.

Measurement of contaminant adsorption on soils using cycling modified column tests.

An innovative cycled column test with supporting batch equilibrium and kinetic analysis for adsorption or desorption were developed for evaluation of adsorption behavior of soils. Non-equilibrium adsorption was observed in the cycled column tests as the traditional testing methods. The isotherm of local equilibrium of the soil was conducted based on the testing results within a relatively short duration with simple analysis. The concentration curves of influent and effluent of the cycled column tests were simulated by dual-porosity (DP) model with a modified inlet boundary. Based on the modeling results, the isotherm of local equilibrium is close to that of the mobile phase adsorption capacity, whereas the immobile phase of the soil is nearly inactive in the retardation of the contaminants. The testing results from cycled column tests are hardly interfered by desorption or the sorption rate according to the modeling for corresponding scenarios. The cycled column test can be used as an alternative or supplementary method to the traditional column test for the determination of local equilibrium isotherm, with advantages of shorter testing duration and easier data analysis.

Evaluation of leachate production and level in municipal solid waste landfills considering secondary compression.

Landfilled municipal solid waste (MSW) in developing countries generally produces a large amount of leachate due to high moisture content. The estimation of leachate production and level is of great importance to the capacity design of leachate treatment plants and the stability analysis of landfills. In this study, the leachate production ratios (the ratio of leachate mass to waste mass) in different countries and cities were first summarized to reveal the basic status of leachate generation. Then, a model was established to calculate the leachate production and level that considers the rainfall infiltration and the water released from MSW due to both primary and secondary compression (ignored in previous models). Finally, the proposed model was used in a case study of Laogang Landfill in Shanghai, China. It was found that the leachate proportion produced by compression was much higher compared with that produced by rainfall infiltration, ranging from 49 (rainy season) to 93% (dry season). The leachate released from waste due to secondary compression accounted for a high proportion (up to 25%) of the total leachate production, especially for aged MSW. The calculated leachate discharge amount and leachate level were close to the measured values because the possible low permeability layer at the bottom of the landfill was considered in this model.

Experimental study on anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity for municipal solid waste.

Anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity is an important parameter controlling fluid movement in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, while measurements of anisotropy are rare. In this study, a laboratory-scale enhanced reactor was built to create MSW samples with different degrees of degradation. Vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivities of these samples were measured in a self-designed permeameter to study the effects of compression and degradation on anisotropy of MSW. CT scanning was performed to observe the internal pore-structure of MSW under compression. A prediction model of anisotropy under compression was established. It was found that as degradation time increased from 0 month to 18 months, the dry mass percent of 0D particles increased from 12.3% to 38.8%, while 2D particles content decreased from 78.7% to 47.2%. As vertical stress increased from 50 kPa to 400 kPa, dry unit weight (γd) increased from 3.26 kN/m3 to 5.51 kN/m3, anisotropy (A) increased from 1.26 to 5.17. It was because that the size and continuity of pores decreased and the angle of pore arrangement tended to be horizontal as the vertical stress increased. The relation between anisotropy and vertical stress could be well fitted with the prediction model. When degradation time increased from 0 month to 18 months, A decreased linearly from 5.02 to 2.75 due to the decreasing content of 2D particles. Anisotropy also decreased with the decreasing C/L. Compression has much greater influence on waste anisotropy than that of degradation. Anisotropy of MSW at different depths of landfills could be determined based on the trend lines in this study.

Improvement of vacuum pressure on pumping performance of vertical wells in municipal solid waste landfills.

The pumping performance of the traditional vertical well is often poor in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills due to the blocking effect of landfill gas on leachate migration. To improve the pumping performance, a vacuum vertical well was designed and then installed at the Tianziling landfill. When the leachate was drawn out through submersible pump, the landfill gas was simultaneously extracted through vacuum pump to form vacuum pressure in the well. The vacuum pressure could increase the hydraulic gradient of leachate flow as well as the relative liquid permeability of MSW. Pumping tests were carried out to explore the effectiveness of the vacuum pressure on improving the pumping performance of vertical well. When the vacuum pressure increased from 0 kPa to - 30 kPa, the steady leachate pumping rate increased from 1.58 to 2.34 m3/h, and the steady leachate level drawdown increased from 5.9 to 10.3 m at the distance of 5 m. The vacuum pressure mainly affected the leachate level drawdown within the distance of 15-20 m. When the vacuum pressure in the pumping well was - 30 kPa, it attenuated to - 14.7 kPa and - 6.6 kPa at the distance of 5 m and 10 m, respectively. The influence radius of vacuum pressure was about 15 m. Numerical modeling indicates that the leachate pumping rate and drawdown will decrease with the increase in decreasing rate of hydraulic conductivity with depth, degree of heterogeneity, and anisotropy of hydraulic conductivity of waste. The experimental and numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of vacuum pressure and provide working parameters for the application of the vacuum wells in MSW landfills.

Datasets for liquefaction case studies of gravelly soils during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.

This Data in Brief article provides summarized information of the liquefaction case histories from the 12 May 2008 M w7.9 Wenchuan earthquake. According to the data processing procedures recommended in the related research article, all eighty-one case histories investigated by the present authors and seven other case histories from the literature are carefully compiled. All necessary information and the mean and standard deviation for some key parameters are given for these liquefaction case histories (i.e., site name, site location, site inclination angle, liquefaction manifestations, critical layer, soil sampling information, ground motion, total and effective stresses, shear-mass participation parameter, cyclic stress ratio (CSR) for M w=7.5, normalized shear wave velocity (V s1), data class and field testing time). These data may be used by colleagues to study the effect of gravel content on liquefaction behaviour of gravelly soils and develop the corresponding deterministic or probabilistic methods for liquefaction triggering evaluation.

Full-scale experimental study of methane emission in a loess-gravel capillary barrier cover under different seasons.

The methane emission in a loess-gravel capillary barrier cover (CBC) in winter and summer was investigated by constructing a full-scale testing facility (20 m × 30 m) with a slope angle of 14.5° at a landfill in Xi'an, China. Weather conditions, methane emission, gas concentration, temperature, and volumetric water content (VWC) in the CBC were measured. The temperature and moisture in the CBC showed a typical seasonal pattern of warm and dry in summer and cold and wet in winter. Accordingly, the maximum methane oxidation rate and methane emission were higher in summer. The mean methane influx and methane emission decreased significantly as the VWC increased beyond 40% (i.e., a degree of saturation 0.85) at a depth of 0.85 m, which was near the loess/gravel interface. At this depth, more water was presented in the loess layer in the downslope direction due to capillary barrier effects, which increased the upslope methane emission. More dominant methane emission in the middle- and upper-section of the CBC occurred in summer than in winter as there was less soil moisture to facilitate methane transfer. The LFG balance showed that a significant fraction of the loaded LFG was not accounted in the flux chamber measurements due to the preferential flow along the edges of the CBC. The maximum methane oxidation rate was 93.3 g CH4 m-2 d-1, indicating the loess-gravel CBC could mitigate methane emissions after landfill closure.

Performance of a compacted loess/gravel cover as a capillary barrier and landfill gas emissions controller in Northwest China.

Loess is widely distributed in Northwest China where the rainy season coincides with the warm and vegetation growth period. The use of loess as a capillary barrier cover (CBC) material is promising. However, how the loess/gravel CBC perform as a capillary barrier and landfill gas emissions controller remains elusive. In this study, the performance of a designed CBC comprised 1.3 m-thick compacted loess underlain by 0.3 m-thick gravel in extremely wet and dry years of Xi'an city from 1950 to 2000 was analyzed using numerical modeling. An instrumented CBC test section comprised 0.9 m-thick compacted loess underlain by 0.3 m-thick gravel was constructed to show the hydraulic responses in real conditions from January 2015 to January 2017. The numerical results indicated that the designed CBC performed well as a capillary barrier as no percolation occurred during the extremely wet periods. Despite adopting a CBC of 0.4 m thinner than the designed one, the test section produced only 16.16 mm percolation during the two-year monitoring period, and that can meet the recommended limit of 30 mm/yr. The effect of the capillary break on increasing the water storage within the CBC was observed at the test section in fall. The increased water storage can significantly decrease the gas permeability, and thus improve the performance of the CBC as a LFG emissions controller. Furthermore, the LFG emissions can be controlled to meet the limit set by the Australian guideline by decreasing the bottom gas pressure and artificial watering. Finally, a procedure was proposed to enhance the performance of CBCs.

Characterization of compression behaviors of high food waste content (HFWC) MSW and no food waste content (NFWC) MSW in China.

In this paper, three sets of laboratory tests were conducted on high-food-waste-content (HFWC-), no-food-waste-content (NFWC-) and decomposed (D-) MSWs to characterize their compression behaviors. The immediate compression ratios C'c were 0.30, 0.23 and 0.18 for HFWC-MSW, NFWC-MSW and D-MSW respectively, and tended to increase with the increasing food waste content of MSW. The release of intra-particle water contained in food waste contributed over 23.6-29.2% to immediate compression for HFWC-MSW. The mechanical creep ratios C'sc were 0.02, 0.015 and 0.01 for HFWC-MSW, NFWC-MSW and D-MSW respectively. A prediction model for C'sc was proposed which incorporated the effects of moisture content, dry unit weight and organic waste content. The bio-compression ratios C'sbI, C'sbII and C'sbIII in response to degradation stage I, II and III were 0.12, 0.10 and 0.02 for HFWC-MSW, and were 0.01, 0.15 and 0.01 for NFWC-MSW. Bio-compression is dominant in stage I and II and mechanical creep is the major contributor in stage III for HFWC-MSW, but to NFWC-MSW, mechanical creep is dominant in stage I and III, and bio-compression takes the main position in stage II. The bio-compression tended to increase linearly with leachate draining rate for HFWC-MSW, and the release of intra-particle water contributed 61.9-65.6% to bio-compression. A new model was proposed that can well capture the highly non-linear behavior of bio-compression for both HFWC-MSW and NFWC-MSW. Based on the above findings, the settlement behavior of HFWC-MSW and NFWC-MSW landfills was compared, and suggestions for technique-efficient and cost-effective design of a NFWC-MSW landfill were discussed.

Installation and performance of horizontal wells for dewatering at municipal solid waste landfills in China.

Vertical wells are conventionally used to lower leachate levels or pressures in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. However, they are not always efficient or even effective, and in some circumstances retro-fitted horizontal wells represent a potential alternative. However, horizontal wells can be difficult to install and there is a lack of data on their performance. This paper describes the trial construction and operation of three horizontal wells in a landfill at Tianziling, China. The trial was used to develop an improved well installation technique, and to demonstrate the viability of the approach in a typical Chinese landfill. Three wells, between 50 m and 56 m in length, were successfully installed using an improved casing-protected directional drilling method. Average leachate flow rates of two wells were 10.66 m3/day and 3.93 m3/day, respectively. After 74 days of drainage, the maximum leachate level drawdown around the highest flow well was 2.7 m and its distance of influence was up to 50 m. Building on the experience gained at Tianziling, a wellfield comprising twelve horizontal wells having a total length of 1000 m was installed at Xingfeng landfill. After 157 days of drainage, a total volume of ~24,000 m3 leachate had been discharged and the leachate level had been lowered to near the elevation of the horizontal wells. This paper indicates the effectiveness of horizontal wells in reducing leachate level in landfills containing MSW typical of that generated in China, and gives data on installation and performance that may be useful for the design and operation of such an approach.

A simple and rapid in situ method for measuring landfill gas emissions and methane oxidation rates in landfill covers.

A newly developed static chamber method with a laser methane detector and a biogas analyser was proposed to measure the landfill gas emissions and methane (CH4) oxidation rates in landfill covers. The method relied on a laser methane detector for measuring CH4 concentration, avoiding gas samplings during test and hence the potential interference of gas compositions inside the chamber. All the measurements could be obtained on site. The method was applied to determine the landfill gas emissions and CH4 oxidation rates in a full-scale loess gravel capillary barrier cover constructed in landfill. Both laboratory calibration and in-situ tests demonstrated that fast (i.e. <20 min) and accurate measurements could be obtained by the proposed method. The method is capable of capturing the significant spatial and temporal variations of the landfill gas emissions and CH4 oxidation rates in landfill site.

Use of electrical resistivity tomography for detecting the distribution of leachate and gas in a large-scale MSW landfill cell.

In this study, integrate electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) tests were carried out in a large-scale (5.0 × 4.0 × 7.5 m) MSW landfill cell to investigate the possibility of detecting perched leachate mounds, leachate level, and gas accumulation zones at wet landfills. The resistivity of both bulk waste and waste components at different moisture states were measured and the three-phase volumetric relationships of the waste pile were analyzed to better interpret the ERT test results in the large-scale cell. The following observations were given: (1) The relationship between resistivity and volumetric moisture content (VMC) of waste sample can be reasonably fitted by Archie's law. The resistivity of waste components at a saturated state was all lower than 21 Ω m. (2) A significant amount of void gas was entrapped in the underwater waste, being 30.4-34.8% of the whole waste pile in volume. (3) Low-resistivity zones (< 5.0 Ω m) were observed in the waste pile being fully drained under a gravity condition, which was believed to be related to a perched leachate. (4) The average VMC values of the waste layer below and above the leachate level were in the ranges of 46.5-53.1% and 28.1-41.3%, respectively. (5) Irregular variations of high-resistivity zones (> 40 Ω m) observed in the underwater waste were associated with the accumulation and dissipation of gas pressure. It was found that the "gas-breaking value" in the gas accumulation zone was up to 10.5 kPa greater than the pore liquid pressure in the stable methanogenesis stage. These findings shone a light on the possibility of using the ERT method as an efficient tool for mapping the gas/leachate distribution and improving operations at wet landfills.

A dual-permeability hydro-biodegradation model for leachate recirculation and settlement in bioreactor landfills.

A dual-permeability hydro-biodegradation model is developed to describe the leachate flow in municipal solid waste (MSW) and predict the long-term settlement induced by biodegradation in bioreactor landfills. The model is verified against Hydrus-1D and a recirculation experiment conducted in a full-scale landfill. Preferential flow and mass transfer between fissure and matrix can be reasonably modeled by the proposed model. A higher recirculation flow rate can speed up the stabilization process of landfill. However, too much recirculation leachate is not economical and environmental friendly. A stabilization speed index and a leachate utilization index are adopted to evaluate the stabilization speed of bioreactor landfill and utilization rate of leachate, respectively, and the optimal recirculation flow rate is estimated. A flow rate of q = 5 × 10-5-5 × 10-4 m/h (equivalent to recirculation intensity of Q = 15-150 L/tonwaste/year) is recommended for recirculation, which has been verified by the field data in numerous bioreactor landfills.

Application of advanced techniques for the assessment of bio-stability of biowaste-derived residues: A minireview.

Bio-stability is a key feature for the utilization and final disposal of biowaste-derived residues, such as aerobic compost or vermicompost of food waste, bio-dried waste, anaerobic digestate or landfilled waste. The present paper reviews conventional methods and advanced techniques used for the assessment of bio-stability. The conventional methods are reclassified into two categories. Advanced techniques, including spectroscopic (fluorescent, ultraviolet-visible, infrared, Raman, nuclear magnetic resonance), thermogravimetric and thermochemolysis analysis, are emphasized for their application in bio-stability assessment in recent years. Their principles, pros and cons are critically discussed. These advanced techniques are found to be convenient in sample preparation and to supply diversified information. However, the viability of these techniques as potential indicators for bio-stability assessment ultimately lies in the establishment of the relationship of advanced ones with the conventional methods, especially with the methods based on biotic response. Furthermore, some misuses in data explanation should be noted.

Biochemical, hydrological and mechanical behaviors of high food waste content MSW landfill: Liquid-gas interactions observed from a large-scale experiment.

The high food waste content (HFWC) MSW at a landfill has the characteristics of rapid hydrolysis process, large leachate production rate and fast gas generation. The liquid-gas interactions at HFWC-MSW landfills are prominent and complex, and still remain significant challenges. This paper focuses on the liquid-gas interactions of HFWC-MSW observed from a large-scale bioreactor landfill experiment (5m×5m×7.5m). Based on the connected and quantitative analyses on the experimental observations, the following findings were obtained: (1) The high leachate level observed at Chinese landfills was attributed to the combined contribution from the great quantity of self-released leachate, waste compression and gas entrapped underwater. The contribution from gas entrapped underwater was estimated to be 21-28% of the total leachate level. (2) The gas entrapped underwater resulted in a reduction of hydraulic conductivity, decreasing by one order with an increase in gas content from 13% to 21%. (3) The "breakthrough value" in the gas accumulation zone was up to 11kPa greater than the pore liquid pressure. The increase of the breakthrough value was associated with the decrease of void porosity induced by surcharge loading. (4) The self-released leachate from HFWC-MSW was estimated to contribute to over 30% of the leachate production at landfills in Southern China. The drainage of leachate with a high organic loading in the rapid hydrolysis stage would lead to a loss of landfill gas (LFG) potential of 13%. Based on the above findings, an improved method considering the quantity of self-released leachate was proposed for the prediction of leachate production at HFWC-MSW landfills. In addition, a three-dimensional drainage system was proposed to drawdown the high leachate level and hence to improve the slope stability of a landfill, reduce the hydraulic head on a bottom liner and increase the collection efficiency for LFG.

Evolution of saturated hydraulic conductivity with compression and degradation for municipal solid waste.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) specimens were created from synthetic fresh MSW degraded in a laboratory scale enhanced degradation reactor. The degree of degradation and saturated hydraulic conductivity ks were measured to study the effects of compression and degradation on ks of MSW. The degree of degradation was characterized through the ratio of cellulose content to lignin content (i.e., C/L) and the loss ratio of volatile solid (i.e., DOD). ks of MSW specimens with different degrees of degradation was measured through triaxial permeameter tests under different confining pressures. It was found that, when the degradation time increased from 0month to 18months, ks decreased less than 1 order of magnitude for specimens with the same porosity (i.e., n=0.63 or 0.69). However, for specimens with the same degradation time, the decrease of ks could reach 2 orders of magnitude with n decreasing from 0.8 to 0.6. It indicates that compression has much greater influence on the reduction of ks than that of degradation. Based on the Kozeny-Carman model and first-order kinetics, a prediction model related to n and C/L (or DOD) of MSW was proposed to analyze the evolution of ks with compression and biodegradation. The methods to determine the values of model parameters were also proposed.

Biochemical, hydrological and mechanical behaviors of high food waste content MSW landfill: Preliminary findings from a large-scale experiment.

A large-scale bioreactor experiment lasting for 2years was presented in this paper to investigate the biochemical, hydrological and mechanical behaviors of high food waste content (HFWC) MSW. The experimental cell was 5m in length, 5m in width and 7.5m in depth, filled with unprocessed HFWC-MSWs of 91.3 tons. In the experiment, a surcharge loading of 33.4kPa was applied on waste surface, mature leachate refilling and warm leachate recirculation were performed to improve the degradation process. In this paper, the measurements of leachate quantity, leachate level, leachate biochemistry, gas composition, waste temperature, earth pressure and waste settlement were presented, and the following observations were made: (1) 26.8m3 leachate collected from the 91.3 tons HFWC-MSW within the first two months, being 96% of the total amount collected in one year. (2) The leachate level was 88% of the waste thickness after waste filling in a close system, and reached to over 100% after a surcharge loading of 33.4kPa. (3) The self-weight effective stress of waste was observed to be close to zero under the condition of high leachate mound. Leachate drawdown led to a gain of self-weight effective stress. (4) A rapid development of waste settlement took place within the first two months, with compression strains of 0.38-0.47, being over 95% of the strain recorded in one year. The compression strain tended to increase linearly with an increase of leachate draining rate during that two months.

Parameter determination of a compression model for landfilled municipal solid waste: an experimental study.

The methods to determine the parameters of a one-dimensional compression model for landfilled municipal solid waste were investigated. In order to test the methods for parameter determination, long-term laboratory compression experiments were carried out under different surcharge loads (i.e. 100, 200 and 400 kPa). Based on the measured compression strain and the reported creep index, the modified primary compression indexes, pre-consolidation pressure and ultimate biodegradation-induced secondary compression strain were determined using the proposed methods. It was found that the simulated compression could not capture the measured secondary compression behavior when using a constant value of biodegradation-induced compression rate coefficient. The variation of the rate coefficient with the change of decomposition rate should be considered during modeling. Accordingly, the biodegradation-induced secondary compression strain in the compression model should be expressed in an incremental form in order to consider the variation of the rate coefficient.

[Impacts of initial moisture content of MSW waste on leachate generation and modified formula for predicting leachate generation].

The amount of leachate generation rate in MSW landfills is often underestimated during design phase in China. A water balance model of a valley landfill, whose size is 400 m long, 500 m wide and 50 m thick, is created to investigate the influences of initial moisture content of waste on source and production of leachate. The 50 m thick waste mass is assumed to be 5 layers. Each layer is 10 m thick with a filling period of 2 years. The leachate mainly comes from precipitation and from squeezed pore water of waste. It is found that higher initial moisture content of waste leads to higher amounts of squeezed leachate and total leachate generation rate, and also results in a high ratio of squeezed leachate to total leachate generation rate. For the cases that the initial moisture contents of waste are 27%, 40%, 50%, and 60%, the amounts of total leachate generation rate are 272, 583, 823 and 1 063 m3 x d(-1), respectively, and the amounts of squeezed leachate are--144, 168, 408, and 647 m3 x d(-1), respectively. It is also found that when the initial moisture content of waste is greater than 50%, the squeezed leachate becomes the primary source of total leachate generation rate. However, the formula for predicting leachate generation rate used in the national code could not consider the contribution of squeezed leachate, this may cause a significant underestimation of leachate generation rate for the case having a high initial moisture content of waste. Based on the water balance analyses, a modified formula for predicting leachate generation rate, which includes the contribution of squeezed leachate is proposed. It is verified by consideration of the operational practices of two large-scale landfills in southern China.