ABSTRACT
In this study, quince seed mucilage (QSM) has been introduced as a novel biocoagulant for the pretreatment of leachate obtained from a composting facility. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study and optimize the effect of pH, QSM dosage and time on the coagulation performance. At the optimum conditions using 1370â mgâ L-1 of QSM at pH 3.8 and 29â min, 45.0% COD reduction was achieved in the coagulation-flocculation (CF) stage. After CF pretreatment stage, Fenton oxidation (FO) process was applied on the leachate. Maximum COD reduction was obtained at pH 2.5, H2O2 concentration of 190â mM, and Fe2+ concentration of 1.64â mM. At the optimum conditions of the combined treatment process, up to 84.4% COD, 99.4% turbidity and 98.2% BOD were removed. The combined CF/FO process using QSM in the CF stage was found to be an effective method for the treatment of compost leachate.