ABSTRACT
A combined process of anaerobic digestion (AD), lime precipitation (P), microfiltration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO) was developed for the treatment of landfill leachate (LFL). The raw LFL contained high amount of organic matter with an elevated humic acids concentration. During the anaerobic digestion step, the organic loading rate was increased progressively up to 3.3gCODL(-1)d(-1). The upflow anaerobic fixed bed reactor showed a great performance in terms of COD removal efficiency and biogas production. During precipitation experiments, lime dose was optimized to obtain the maximum reduction of conductivity to prevent the fouling of RO membranes. This process was compared to a second one in which the AD step was eliminated. Both treatment plans achieved similar removal efficiencies. However, AD step significantly improved the process by reducing the needed lime dose by 50%. It has also increased MF and RO fluxes by 35% and 40% at a steady state, respectively. The dominant fouling mechanism was cake layer formation during both MF tests. This process seems to be a promising approach for the treatment of LFL and its industrial application should be further investigated.
Subject(s)
Waste Disposal Facilities , Waste Disposal, Fluid/methods , Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis , AnaerobiosisABSTRACT
Landfill leachate (LFL) collected from the controlled discharge of Jebel Chakir in Tunisia was treated without any physical or chemical pretreatment in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). The organic loading rate (OLR) in the AnMBR was gradually increased from 1 g COD l(-1)d(-1) to an average of 6.27 g COD l(-1)d(-1). At the highest OLR, the biogas production was more than 3 volumes of biogas per volume of the bioreactor. The volatile suspended solids (VSSs) reached a value of approximately 3 g l(-1) in the bioreactor. At stable conditions, the treatment efficiency was high with an average COD reduction of 90% and biogas yield of 0.46 l biogas per g COD removed.
