COD fractions of leachate from aerobic and anaerobic pilot scale landfill reactors

One of the most important problems with designing and maintaining a landfill is managing leachate that generated when water passes through the waste. In this study, leachate samples taken from aerobic and anaerobic landfill reactors operated with and without leachate recirculation are investigated in terms of biodegradable and non-biodegradable fractions of COD. The operation time is 600 days for anaerobic reactors and 250 days for aerobic reactors. Results of this study show that while the values of soluble inert COD to total COD in the leachate of aerobic landfill with leachate recirculation and aerobic dry reactors are determined around 40%, this rate was found around 30% in the leachate of anaerobic landfill with leachate recirculation and traditional landfill reactors. The reason for this difference is that the aerobic reactors generated much more microbial products. Because of this condition, it can be concluded that total inert COD/total COD ratios of the aerobic reactors were 60%, whereas those of anaerobic reactors were 50%. This study is important for modeling, design, and operation of landfill leachate treatment systems and determination of discharge limits.     

Metal concentrations of simulated aerobic and anaerobic pilot scale landfill reactors

Leachate and solid waste samples from aerobic and anaerobic simulated landfill reactors operated with and without leachate recirculation were characterized in terms of metals such as Fe, Ca, K, Na, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn. Metal concentrations of aerobic landfill reactor leachate samples are always below the regulation limits. The higher concentrations in anaerobic landfill leachate samples decreased to regulation limits after the landfill becomes methanogenic. The effect of leachate recirculation is determined in anaerobic landfills more clearly than aerobic landfills. Metal precipitation resulted in a decrease in leachate metal content and an increase in solid waste metal content as expected. Result of the study show that the metal content of landfill leachate samples is not a major concern for both aerobic and anaerobic landfills.     

Impact of various leachate recirculation regimes on municipal solid waste degradation

Landfilled municipal solid waste can be treated by introducing leachate into the waste matrix. Increasing attention is being given to landfill leachate recirculation as a means for in situ leachate treatment and landfill stabilization. Landfills with leachate recirculation may be operated as municipal solid waste bioreactor treatment system rather than as a conventional waste dumping sites. In order to study the impact of various leachate recirculation regimes on municipal solid waste degradation, two landfill-simulating reactors, one with leachate recycle and one without, were constructed and placed at a constant room temperature (34 degrees C). Both reactors were filled with a municipal solid waste mixture representing the typical solid waste composition determined for the city of Istanbul. For the purpose of this experiment, leachate recirculation volume and frequency were changed periodically. This research showed that increased frequency of leachate recirculation accelerates the stabilization rate of waste matrix. About 2l of recirculated leachate and four times per week recirculation strategy were found to provide the highest degree of waste stabilization. Additionally, this research confirmed that leachate recirculation is a very feasible way for in situ leachate treatment.     

Nitrogen removal in the bioreactor landfill system with intermittent aeration at the top of landfilled waste

High ammonia concentration of recycled landfill leachate makes it very difficult to treat. In this work, a vertical aerobic/anoxic/anaerobic lab-scale bioreactor landfill system, which was constructed by intermittent aeration at the top of landfilled waste, as a bioreactor for in situ nitrogen removal was investigated during waste stabilization. Intermittent aeration at the top of landfilled waste might stimulate the growth of nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria in the top and middle layers of waste. The nitrifying bacteria population for the landfill bioreactor with intermittent aeration system reached between 10(6) and 10(8) cells/dry g waste, although it decreased 2 orders of magnitude on day 30, due to the inhibitory effect of the acid environment and high organic matter in the landfilled waste. The denitrifying bacteria population increased by between 4 and 13 orders of magnitude compared with conventional anaerobic landfilled waste layers. Leachate NO(3)(-)-N concentration was very low in both two experimental landfill reactors. After 105 days operation, leachate NH(4)(+)-N and TN concentrations for the landfill reactor with intermittent aeration system dropped to 186 and 289 mg/l, respectively, while they were still kept above 1000 mg/l for the landfill reactor without intermittent aerobic system. In addition, there is an increase in the rate of waste stabilization as well as an increase of 12% in the total waste settlement for the landfill reactor with intermittent aeration system.     

Heavy metal leaching from aerobic and anaerobic landfill bioreactors of co-disposed municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash and shredded low-organic residues

In this study, heavy metal leaching from aerobic and anaerobic landfill bioreactor test cells for co-disposed municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash and shredded low-organic residues has been investigated. Test cells were operated for 1 year. Heavy metals which were comparatively higher in leachate of aerobic cell were copper (Cu), lead (Pb), boron (B), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe), and those apparently lower were aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), molybdenum (Mo), and vanadium (V). However, no significant release of heavy metals under aerobic conditions was observed compared to anaerobic and control cells. Furthermore, there was no meaningful correlation between oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and heavy metal concentrations in the leachates although some researchers speculate that aeration may result in excessive heavy metal leaching. No meaningful correlation between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and leaching of Cu and Pb was another interesting observation. The only heavy metal that exceeded the state discharge limits (10mg/l, to be enforced after April 2005) in the aerobic cell leachate samples was boron and there was no correlation between boron leaching and ORP. Higher B levels in aerobic cell should be due to comparatively lower pH values in this cell. However, it is anticipated that this slightly increased concentrations of B (maximum 25mg/l) will not create a risk for bioreactor operation; rather it should be beneficial for long-term stability of the landfill through faster washout. It was concluded that aerobization of landfills of heavy metal rich MSWI bottom ash and shredded residues is possible with no dramatic increase in heavy metals in the leachate.     

Internal leachate quality in a municipal solid waste landfill: vertical, horizontal and temporal variation and impacts of leachate recirculation

The aim of this study was to monitor and characterise internal leachate quality at a Finnish municipal solid waste landfill (Lahti, Kujala, in operation for approximately 50 years) to provide information about its horizontal and vertical variation as well as effects of leachate recirculation on leachate quality. The study area (approximately 4 h) of the landfill had 14 monitoring wells for leachate quality monitoring over a 2-year period. The leachate was monitored for COD, BOD, TKN, NH₄–N, Cl, pH and electric conductivity. The results showed high horizontal and vertical variability in leachate quality between monitoring wells, indicating that age and properties of waste, local conditions (e.g., water table) and degradation and dilution processes have a marked effect on local leachate quality. The mean COD values (642–8037 mg/l) and mean BOD/COD ratios (0.08–0.17) from the different monitoring wells were typical of landfills in the methanogenic phase of degradation. The leachate in the monitoring wells was notably more concentrated than the leachate effluent used for leachate recirculation. In the landfill as a whole the effects of the leachate recirculation on leachate quality, although difficult to distinguish from those caused by other factors, appeared to be minor during the study period.     

Chlorophenols in leachates originating from different landfills and aerobic composting plants

Both type and concentration of organic contaminants in landfill leachates show great variation depending on many factors, such as type of wastes, rate of water application, moisture content, landfill design and operation age. In this paper, highly toxic chlorophenol derivatives, poorly biodegradable, carcinogenic existence and recalcitrant properties are determined by solid phase microextraction (SPME)-GC/FID in different leachates from landfill and composting plant in Istanbul. Leachates originated from acidogenic, methanogenic phases of Odayeri sanitary landfill (OSL) and from an aerobic composting plant are considered for different chlorophenol types. It is observed that acidogenic leachate from Odayeri landfill includes 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,6-dichlorophenol, 2,3,4-trichlorophenol, 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol and 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol at concentration ranges, 15-130, 18-65, 8-40, 5-20 and 10-25 microg/l, respectively. Whereas, only 2,4-dichlorophenol at a concentration range 8-40 microg/l is determined in the methanogenic leachate of the landfill, which can be considered as an indication of reductive dechlorination. There is no chlorophenol derivative in aerobic composting leachate. It is determined that acidogenic leachate from Odayeri landfill includes more species of chlorinated phenols at higher concentration.     

Treatment of landfill leachates

Landfill leachate, which resembles concentrated mixed industrial waste water, threatens national groundwater supplies. Several processes drawn from industrial water treatment have been considered for renovating landfill leachate: biodegradation, chemical and thermal degradation, adsorption, reverse osmosis, and coagulation/precipitation. Since transporting leachate off-site entails considerable risk and expense, these technologies must be evaluated for their applicability to on-site treatment.Biodegradation has the greatest potential for removing the varied organic compounds found in leachate streams due to its flexibility and relatively wide application in waste-water treatment. Use of combinations of biological processes, such as sequential aerobic and anaerobic treatment, or of biological and physical processes, such as biologically activated carbon, may improve performance. Alternative chemical or thermal destruction processes are more energy intensive and require finer control than biological processes.Coagulation/precipitation, adsorption, and membrane processes have been studied for treating leachates to remove organic compounds, heavy metals, entrained oil, and colloidal material. Because these processes partition the leachate and, thus, concentrate toxic substances, further treatment of their residues is necessary. They are particularly suited for pretreating influent to a biological process or for polishing a biological effluent.Much work remains in applying these treatment processes to actual landfill leachates. Design of leachate treatment processes must be tailored to the site and will depend on the quantity and characteristics of treatment residues allowed under the prevailing regulatory environment. The variability of landfill leachates both from site to site and temporally within a site makes leachate treatment a challenging problem.     

The metal-leaching and acid-neutralizing capacity of MSW incinerator ash co-disposed with MSW in landfill sites

Municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator (MSWI) bottom ash and fly ash were used as landfill cover or were co-disposed with MSW to measure their potential metal-releasing and acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) in landfill sites. Five lysimeters (height 1.2m, diameter 0.2m), simulating landfill conditions, were used in the experiment. Four contained either bottom ash (BA) or fly ash (FA) with BA:MSW ratios of 100 and 200 g L(-1) and FA:MSW ratios of 10 and 20 g L(-1), and the fifth was the control, which contained no ash. The lysimeters were arranged so as to contain four layers, with BA or FA placed on top of MSW within each layer. Each lysimeter was recirculated with 100mL leachate using peristaltic pumps, and 100mL of the leachate was collected weekly to measure the soluble metal concentrations. The results showed that the concentrations of soluble alkali metals measured in the leachate were in the order Ca>K>Na>Mg. In addition, the concentrations of soluble alkali metals of Ca and K collected from the lysimeters containing FA were found to be higher than the concentrations from the lysimeters containing BA. The concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn) were found to be <1 mg L(-1) except for Pb, which reached 2 mg L(-1). These results suggest that for alkali metals there might be an ANC consistent with the results of an acid titration curve, which would provide suitable conditions for anaerobic digestion of the MSW in the landfill. Furthermore, heavy metals and trace metals were found in concentrations, which were too low to exert inhibitory effects on anaerobic digestion, and thus they could serve as micronutrients to exert beneficial rather than detrimental effects on landfill biostabilization.     

Size-fractionation and characterization of refuse landfill leachate by sequential filtration using membranes with varied porosity

Fresh leachate and effluents samples were collected from the holding tank, anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic lagoons at Shanghai Laogang Refuse Landfill, the largest landfill in China with a placement scale of 9000 t refuse per day. To characterize the difference in leachate along the treatment processes, especially the information about size distribution of colloids in those leachate, the organic matters were size-fractioned into suspended particles (SP, >1.2 microm), coarse colloids (CC, 1.2-0.45 microm), fine colloids (FC, 0.45 microm to 1 kDa MW, 1 Da=1/16 O atomic mass unit), and dissolved organic matters (DM, <1 kDa MW) using micro-filtration and ultra-filtration membranes in order. The parameters, such as COD (chemical oxygen demand), TOC (total organic carbon), TS (total solid), pH, TP (total phosphate), TN (total nitrogen), FS (fixed solid), NH4+, IC (inorganic carbon), TC (total carbon), color, turbidity and conductivity in the filtrates resulting from sequential filtration of leachate, were then determined, and quantitative relationships between these parameters and the membrane molecular sizes used were established. Typically, the total removal of COD, NH4+, conductivity and P were found to be 75%, 75%, 42% and 85%, respectively, after the biological treatment processes used at Laogang Refuse Landfill. Dissolved fractions were predominant in fresh leachate and in effluents from treatment processes in terms of TOC with a content of over 47%. The molecular weight (MW) percentage distribution in leachate varied as the leachate was treated in the biological treatment stages. The percentages of TOC of fine colloid fractions increased from 6% to 38% while those of dissolved fractions decreased from 78% to 47%. TN in leachate also predominated in the dissolved fraction, occupying over 58%, while those TP in leachate were combined with the SS and CC fractions. The ratios of ortho-phosphate/TP and NH4+/TN in leachate and effluents were over 50% and 80%, respectively.     

Co-landfilling of pretreated waste: disposal and management strategies at lab-scale

The present paper deals with the possible advantages that can be obtained by co-landfilling of municipal solid waste organic fraction (MSWOF) and bottom ash (BA) from the incineration of municipal solid waste. In particular, the aim of the research hereby presented is to check the effect exerted by different disposal (mixed or layered) and management strategies (anaerobic or semiaerobic conditions) for landfills in which MSWOF and BA are co-disposed. Three lab-scale reactors were set-up: the reactor A with mixed BA and MSWOF in anaerobic conditions, the reactor B with mixed BA and MSWOF in semiaerobic conditions, the reactor C with layered BA and MSWOF in anaerobic conditions. The results obtained showed that the aeration at the beginning of the experimental period for about 60 days led to a more rapid biodegradation of the organic matter and to an improved leachate quality in terms of both organic load and nitrogen content. Also a significant increase in the settling rate was observed at the end of the aeration phase. Therefore, the aerobic management can be advised as the most available strategy providing a more rapid biological and mechanical stabilization of the bulk waste. Otherwise, the disposal strategy did not exert any significant effect on the leachate characteristics; however, the layered configuration may be adopted in order to accelerate the main settlements.     

Influence of temperature on the electrical conductivity of leachate from municipal solid waste

A bioreactor landfill is designed to manage municipal solid waste, through accelerated waste biodegradation, and stabilisation of the process by means of the controlled addition of liquid, i.e. leachate recirculation. The measurement of electrical resistivity by Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) allows to monitor water content present in the bioreactors. Variations in electrical resistivity are linked to variations in moisture content and temperature. In order to overcome this ambiguity, two laboratory experiments were carried out to establish a relationship between temperature and electrical conductivity: the first set of measurements was made for leachate alone, whereas the second set was made with two different granular media saturated with leachate. Both experiments confirm a well known increase in conductivity of about 2% degrees C(-1). However, higher suspended matter concentrations lead to a lower dependence of electrical conductivity on temperature. Furthermore, for various porous media saturated with an identical leachate, the higher the specific surface of the granular matrix, the lower the effective bulk electrical conductivity. These observations show that a correct understanding of the electrical properties of liquids requires the nature and (in particular) the size of the electrical charge carriers to be taken into account.     

The degradation of landfill leachate in the presence of different catalysts by sonolytic and sonocatalytic processes

In the study, the degradation of landfill leachate by single ultrasound (sonolytic) and sonolytic combined with Fe²⁺ and TiO₂ catalysts was carried out in laboratory conditions. The effect of pH and ultrasonic wave amplitude was also investigated in terms of color removal, total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from leachate by the sonolytic degradation process. In this process, the color removal efficiency was recorded as 81.81% at 620?nm, pH?=?2.0 and 70% wave amplitude. The sonocatalytic degradation of landfill leachate accompanied by different catalysts was studied by using the 70% wave amplitude at pH?=?2.0 and room temperature for 20?min. The sonocatalytic degradation of leachate by using Fe²⁺ and TiO₂ was found to be significantly higher than sonolytic degradation (p?2+ concentration increased from 1.0 to 3.0?mg/L, the COD and color removal of leachate significantly decreased (p?相似文献   

Influence of alkalinity on the stabilization of municipal solid waste in anaerobic simulated bioreactor

Four simulated landfill anaerobic bioreactors were performed to investigate the influence of alkalinity on the anaerobic treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW). Leachate was recirculated in all the four reactors. One reactor was operated without alkalinization. The other three were operated under alkaline conditions. Na(2)CO(3), NaHCO(3) and NaOH were added to leachate in the second, third and fourth reactor, respectively. Experimental results showed that CO(3)(2-) and HCO(3)(-) addition had a more pronounced effect on MSW stabilization while the effect of addition of OH(-) was weak. The concentration of COD, BOD(5), total nitrogen (TN), ammonium nitrogen (NH(4)(+)-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO(3)(-)-N), etc. in leachate significantly reduced in four reactors. The removal efficiencies were 90.56%, 92.21%, 92.74% and 90.29% for COD, 66.45%, 72.38%, 68.62% and 68.44% for NO(3)(-)-N, and 96.5%, 98.75%, 97.75% and 98% for NO(2)(-)-N in the control, Na(2)CO(3), NaHCO(3) and OH(-) added reactors, respectively. The final BOD(5)/COD was 0.262, 0.104, 0.124, and 0.143, and pH was 7.13, 7.28, 7.42, and 7.24 for control, Na(2)CO(3) added, NaHCO(3) added, and OH(-) added reactor, respectively. Therefore, alkalinity addition had positive effect on the stabilization of MSW.     

Physico-chemical treatments for removal of recalcitrant contaminants from landfill leachate

In this paper, the technical applicability and treatment performance of physico-chemical techniques (individual and/or combined) for landfill leachate are reviewed. A particular focus is given to coagulation-flocculation, chemical precipitation, ammonium stripping, membrane filtration and adsorption. The advantages and limitations of various techniques are evaluated. Their operating conditions such as pH, dose required, characteristics of leachate in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH3-N concentration and treatment efficiency are compared. It is evident from the survey of 118 papers (1983-2005) that none of the individual physico-chemical techniques is universally applicable or highly effective for the removal of recalcitrant compounds from stabilized leachate. Among the treatments reviewed in this article, adsorption, membrane filtration and chemical precipitation are the most frequently applied and studied worldwide. Both activated carbon adsorption and nanofiltration are effective for over 95% COD removal with COD concentrations ranging from 5690 to 17,000 mg/L. About 98% removal of NH3-N with an initial concentration ranging from 3260 to 5618 mg/L has been achieved using struvite precipitation. A combination of physico-chemical and biological treatments has demonstrated its effectiveness for the treatment of stabilized leachate. Almost complete removal of COD and NH3-N has been accomplished by a combination of reverse osmosis (RO) and an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) with an initial COD concentration of 35,000 mg/L and NH3-N concentration of 1600 mg/L and/or RO and activated sludge with an initial COD concentration of 6440 mg/L and NH3-N concentration of 1153 mg/L. It is important to note that the selection of the most suitable treatment method for landfill leachate depends on the characteristics of landfill leachate, technical applicability and constraints, effluent discharge alternatives, cost-effectiveness, regulatory requirements and environmental impact.     

Co-digestion of mixed industrial sludge with municipal solid wastes in anaerobic simulated landfilling bioreactors

In this study, the feasibility of the anaerobic co-digestion of a mixed industrial sludge with municipal solid wastes (MSW) was investigated in three simulated anaerobic landfilling bioreactors during a 150-day period. All of the reactors were operated with leachate recirculation. One of them was loaded only with MSW (control reactor); the second reactor was loaded with mixed industrial sludge and MSW, the weight ratio of the MSW to mixed industrial sludge was 1:1 (based on dry solid) (Run 1); the third reactor was loaded with mixed industrial sludge and MSW, the weight ratio of the MSW to mixed industrial sludge was 1:2 (based on dry solid) (Run 2). The VFA concentrations decreased significantly in Run 1 and Run 2 reactors at the end of 150 days. The pH values were higher in Run 1 and Run 2 reactors compared to control reactor. The differences between leachate characteristics, the biodegradation and the bioefficiency of the reactors were compared. The NH(4)-N concentrations released to leachate from mixed sludge in Run 1 and Run 2 reactors were lower than that of control reactor. The BOD(5)/COD ratios in Run 1 and Run 2 reactors were lower than that of control reactor at the end of 150 days. Cumulative methane gas productions and methane percentages were higher in Run 1 and Run 2 reactors. Reductions in waste quantity, carbon percentage and settlement of the waste were better in Run 1 and Run 2 reactors compared to control reactor at the end of 150 days. Furthermore, TN and TP removals in waste were higher in reactors containing industrial sludge compared to control. The toxicity test results showed that toxicity was observed in reactors containing industrial mixed sludge.     

Treatment of MSW landfill leachate by a thin gap annular UV/H2O2 photoreactor with multi-UV lamps

The treatment of leachate from landfills is a major disposal problem for municipal solid waste. The leachate is generally recalcitrant to be treated according to complicated characteristics and high color intensity resulting further threat for environment and human health. In this work, the designed thin gap annular photoreactor with 4-UV lamps in UV/H2O2 process was proposed to decolor and remove chemical oxygen demand (COD) from the landfill leachate for solving this environmental problem. Meanwhile, the operating parameters such as UV dosage, hydrogen peroxide concentration and leachate strength were evaluated. The landfill leachate treated with the maximum dosage of 4-UV lamps and 232.7 mM of hydrogen peroxide concentration achieved 72 and 65% of color and COD removal efficiencies in 300 min. As for less concentrated leachate of 20% strength, 91% of color and 87% of COD were removed within only 120 min. From the experimental results, the UV/H2O2 process in this work was an effective pre-treatment or treatment technology for landfill leachate.     

Pharmaceutical compound content of municipal solid waste

The occurrence and fate of pharmaceuticals in landfills has been largely neglected. Once discarded in municipal solid waste (MSW), pharmaceuticals within a landfill may undergo degradation, adsorption, or enter the leachate and eventually exit the landfill. The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) concentration of MSW was predicted using available statistics on medication usage and directly measured by a MSW composition study. Estimation calculations resulted in a potential concentration of APIs from 7.4 to 45 mg/kg of MSW, varying with the percentage of dispensed medications assumed to become unused. Direct measurement resulted in the collection of 22 APIs comprising a total of 22,910 mg. This resulted in a final concentration of 8.1 mg/kg within MSW. Additionally, 45 empty medication containers were collected which potentially contained 33 differing APIs upon disposal.     

Soluble substrate concentrations in leachate from field scale MSW test cells

We have monitored non-biodegradable soluble COD of leachates derived from two different landfill test cells, which were constructed at Odayeri Sanitary Landfill and operated with (C2) and without (C1) leachate recirculation for 1080 days. Refuse height and the placement area of test cells were 5m and 1250m(2) (25mx50m), respectively. For leachates of both cells, initial inert soluble COD fraction (f(non)) increased from it is initial value of 0.01 to around 0.1 after 300 days of operation. Due to the development of anaerobic conditions, the value showed an increasing trend and the maximum value of 0.4 was reached on day 600. Several suitable models were also fitted to the experimental data on the basis of statistical reasoning. So as to evaluate the goodness of obtained fits, the calculated values of the sum of squares due to error (SSE), R-square, the residual degrees of freedom (DFE), adjusted R-square, and root mean square errors (RMSE) associated with the model results were compared. Logistic model for C1 test cell and Gompertz model for C2 test cell gave the best fits to the experimental data. Moreover, using the fitted model parameters, pollution loads, and BOD/COD ratios in leachates from C1 (control) and C2 (recirculation) cells were estimated and deeply discussed. The results of the study can be satisfactorily used to predict change in the composition of leachate over time, which may help to obtain better effluent quality in biological treatment of leachate.     

Evaluating leachate contamination potential of landfill sites using leachate pollution index

The dumping of solid waste in uncontrolled landfills can cause significant impacts on the environment and human health. The principal concern is focussed on the pollution potential due to migration of the leachate generated from the landfill sites into the groundwater, the surface water or the sea. In this paper, the concept of the leachate pollution index, a tool for quantifying the leachate pollution potential of landfill sites, has been described and its practical application has been demonstrated by comparing the leachate contamination potential of two active and two closed landfills sites in Hong Kong. It has been found that the leachate generated from the closed landfills can have equal or more contamination potential in comparison to the active landfill sites and hence, the remediation actions and post-closure monitoring should be ensured at the closed landfills till the leachate generated is stabilized and poses no further threat to the environment.