Treatment of landfill leachate using ASBR combined with zeolite adsorption technology.
Sanitary landfilling is the most common way to dispose solid urban waste; however, improper landfill management may pose serious environmental threats through discharge of high strength polluted wastewater also known as leachate. The treatment of landfill leachate to fully reduce the negative impact on the environment, is nowadays a challenge. In this study, an aerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) was proposed for the treatment of locally obtained real landfill leachate with initial ammoniacal nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of 1800 and 3200 mg/L, respectively. ASBR could remove 65 % of ammoniacal nitrogen and 30 % of COD during seven days of treatment time. Thereafter, an effective adsorbent, i.e., zeolite was used as a secondary treatment step for polishing the ammoniacal nitrogen and COD content that is present in leachate. The results obtained are promising where the adsorption of leachate by zeolite further enhanced the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen and COD up to 96 and 43 %, respectively. Furthermore, this combined biological-physical treatment system was able to remove heavy metals, i.e. aluminium, vanadium, chromium, magnesium, cuprum and plumbum significantly. These results demonstrate that combined ASBR and zeolite adsorption is a feasible technique for the treatment of landfill leachate, even considering this effluent's high resistance to treatment.
Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400, Parit Raja Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. cklim@uthm.edu.my.
Chi Kim
CK
Lim
Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400, Parit Raja Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.
Ta Wee
TW
Seow
Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Security, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.
Chin Hong
CH
Neoh
Department of Biosciences and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.
Muhamad Hanif
MH
Md Nor
Department of Biosciences and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.
Zaharah
Z
Ibrahim
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.
Ismail
I
Ware
Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.
Siti Hajar
SH
Mat Sarip
Adsorption; Ammoniacal nitrogen; COD; Landfill leachate; Sequencing batch reactor; Zeolite