title: Hollow-fiber membrane bioreactor for the treatment of high-strength landfill leachate.
abstract: Performance assessment of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for the treatability of high-strength landfill leachate is relatively limited or lacking. This study examines the feasibility of treating high-strength landfill leachate using a hollow-fiber MBR. For this purpose, a laboratory-scale MBR was constructed and operated to treat leachate with a chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 9000-11,000 mg/l, a 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) of 4000-6,000 mg/l, volatile suspended solids (VSS) of 300-500 mg/l, total nitrogen (TN) of 2000-6000 mg/l, and an ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) of 1800-4000 mg/l. VSS was used with the BOD and COD data to simulate the biological activity in the activated sludge. Removal efficiencies > 95-99% for BOD5, VSS, TN and NH3-N were attained. The coupled experimental and simulation results contribute in filling a gap in managing high-strength landfill leachate and providing guidelines for corresponding MBR application.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Marwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rizkallah
authors.forename: Mutasem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El-Fadel
authors.forename: Pascal E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Saikaly
authors.forename: George M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Ayoub
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Darwiche
authors.forename: Jihan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hashisho
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000032:analysis; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D019149:Bioreactors; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007861:Lebanon; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D013696:Temperature; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000641:Ammonia; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Municipal solid waste; hollow fiber; landfilling; leachate treatment; membrane bioreactor