title: Electrochemical oxidation of leachate pretreated in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor.
abstract: This study was conducted to develop a two-stage process for the treatment of Hong Kong leachate. The leachate, containing 4750 mg l-1 of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 1310 mg l-1 of ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), was first treated in a UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) reactor at 37 degrees C. The process removed on average 66.1% of COD with 6.1 days of hydraulic retention time (HRT), corresponding to an organic loading rate of 0.78 g-COD (l.day)-1. The UASB effluent, which had an average pH of 8.9, COD of 1610 mg l-1 and NH3-N of 1480 mg l-1, was then further treated by electrochemical oxidation in a batch reactor with recirculation. With the addition of 2000 mg l-1 of chloride (in the form of sodium chloride) and at a current density of 32.3 mA cm-2, 87% of COD and 100% of NH3-N were removed from the UASB effluent in six hours. The energy consumption was < 55 kWh kg-COD-1. The final effluent contained no residual NH3-N and only 209 mg l-1 of COD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: I W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D004563:Electrochemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D010100:Oxygen