Leachate quality from landfilled MBT waste [An article from: Waste Management]
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A research project recently completed on behalf of the UK Environment Agency, has collected data and sampled leachates from EU landfills that have received imports of MSOR and MBT wastes. Results are presented for sanitary analyses, heavy metals, and an extensive range of trace organic substances, from sites containing MBT wastes that have received different degrees of composting pre-treatment. Leachates produced from MSOR wastes have a very high polluting potential, but biological pre-treatment of these wastes can avoid the peak acetogenic phase of decomposition, and produce leachates similar to, or weaker than, those from conventional methanogenic landfills. Effective MBT processes can also significantly reduce concentrations of trace organics, and of ammoniacal-N in leachates. However, further research is needed to examine the relative importance of nitrification/denitrification processes, generation of stable, organically based nitrogen forms, and other routes during MBT processing, in order that appropriate reactions to remove nitrogen can be encouraged and optimised.
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Hello…
Our experience shows that side-slope risers suffer just as much (if not more) from settlement issues than vertical chambers / wells. Pneumatic pumps have their uses but require a lot of maintenance (they are prone to stalling, blockages and scale build-up. Additionally, they are not much good if substantial flows are required as flow rates are poor. (Give me an ATEX-approved electric pump anytime)!!
Regards,MH
Electric submersible pumps have been used on all the sites I have seen. How many operators use pneumatics?
We have monitored and drawn-down our leachate levels, but still have persistent leachate breakouts. Any ideas?
Simon: This will almost certainly be due to small quantity of leachate perched above a lower permeability horizon. Permeability contrast horizons which trap leachate and cause it to migrate sideways and create breakouts, are present in the waste of all landfills. They may be created by temporary cover not removed before more waste is placed above, and even by areas which have been compacted by vehicle movements.
If the local environmental regulator will permit you to remove the capping material and create a “soakaway” in permeable stone around the breakout which will allow the breakout leachate to cease putting a pressure below the capping material and drain downward through the waste, that can be an effective solution.
However, they will not always allow that and at times I have been forced to lay french drains below the cap to lead the leachate from the breakout location to a leachate well or perimeter drain.
This can end up being quite costly to do. If it will help you I can always discuss this with the regulator [Uk] for you. Just fill in an LTP Plant Quote request and I’ll get back to you.
How about biological treatment when the discharge is to the sea and has to meet UWWTD standards but not nitrify. What %COD removal can be obtained?
Presumably by meeting Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive standards you are seeking a 75% or better removal of COD by the plant as would be required of a Water Utility Company operating a Wastewater Treatment Works. A well implemented and operated aerobic biological nitrification process will reliably achieve a COD removal rate which is related to the ammoniacal nitrogen in the leachate initially, and thus varies for different strength and age of leachates.
However, for modern EU Landfill Directive compliant landfills we would achieve certainly over 50% COD removal just from the settled single stage effluent, and commomly up to 65% COD removal with simple in reactor settlement only.
To go better than that in most cases up to 75% removal without denitrification is achievable with any one of many tertiary treatment methods, without the cost and complexity of dentrification, but in these plants you will of course nitrify (i.e. produce nitrate (NO3) from the ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4-N)).
That nitrate can be, of course, be a problem for fisheries especially in estuaries where there is little dilution available, and concerns exist about the risk of estuarial eutrophication.
The options after biological treatment of this sort are then:
a) Adding a further biological denitrication stage, or possibly
b) Reverse Osmosis (RO), with or without, Ultra-filtration.
Care is needed before adopting RO as the method of disposal of the concentrate may well not be sustainable, if the intention is to return it to the landfill. If the residue is not disposed back into the landfill, the cost of disposal of the concentrate as a hazardous waste can often be prohibitive depeding on reasonably local availability of haz waste disposal facilities, and in that case denitrification is the best option.
If you would like to email me direct, or use our Contact Form I would be pleased to send you copies of peer reviewed technical papers presented at conferences showing results achieved in such biological leachate treatment plants.
There is a new treatment process that uses RBC technology (standard for biological treatment), but is a chemical process, based on Fenton’s principal. It has achieved much better results than biological treatment and can be used in conjunction with biological treatment. Full Disclosure: It is a startup venture that I am involved in, EcoH2O LTD.
Has it been demonstrated for treating leachate from a modern landfill? RBCs were used for leachate treatment in the 1980s and 1990s in the UK, but experienced problems and their proponents have ceased promoting such designs for leachate, as far as I am aware.
I believe one major problem was their susceptability to cooling of the exposed biomass on the rotors. You have to appreciate that just an hours heating failure, perhaps even less, can damage the viability of the exposed biomass on the surface of the rotors.
If the biomass falls off the rotor surface the ability for an RBC to treat effectively will be impaired for a long period, especially in the winter, when the treatment capacity is probably needed most due to seasonally high UK rainfall.
Those are just my thoughts. Sorry, not to be more positive, unless of course you have solved that one as well?
ALL of the major operators in the U.K. use them on at least some of their sites.
Also all of the major L.F.G. companies in the U.K. use them in many of their “Knock out pots”.
Try the software
This is an interesting article supporting aerobic process.
However, our experience differs as we designed and successfully operated an anaerobic filter treating landfill leachate from four sites serving Steuben County NY about 20 years ago. This plant treated the hauled in leachate of about 20,000 gallons per day and used the bio gas to heat the digester and produce hot water for local use.
Unfortunately some of the chemicals in leachate were classified as hazardous so the plant was decommissioned and an aerobic treatment system was built at another site at a cost of several million dollars while the original anaerobic system was built for $600,000.
With high energy cost and sludge generation point of view, We would recommend reevaluation of the anaerobic option.
Ram
je prepare un examen(attestation de capacite)attant chauffeur routier et transportant du lixiviats j’ai desidé pour mom memoire de prendre comme sujet le recyclage des dechets et leurs utilités pour les energies renouvelable je suis donc a la recherche de documentation si vous pouviez m’en transmettre,je vous remercie christine.
“I prepared a review (proof of capability) about road driver and carrying of leachate. I desire to carry out the recycling of waste and their utilities for renewable energies. I’m looking for research documentation if you could send it to me, thank you. Christine.”
You can transport leachate and treat it, but I do not know anyone who is using leachate to create renewable energy. If you succeed in doing that you will be very clever. I do not have any research on making renewable energy from leachate. I do not know anyone that is doing that.
What sort of environmental impact are these leachates having? Are they causing water pollution? Air pollution? Are they affecting the ozone layer?
At some landfills (where leachate is not controlled) I am sure that leachate is getting into the ground and from there into wells and boreholes and therefore also into water supplies.
Leachate can cause a lot of odour if it is left out in lagoons untreated.
Air pollution? No, not significantly, other than odor as mentioned earlier.
Leachate will not be affecting the ozone layer in my opinion.
I understand that methane gas is generated by the decomposition of organic material in an oxygen poor environment. I have a question. If a leachate plume is migrating away from the waste. Is there a significant potential for methane to off gas into the unsaturated zone from the plume (as opposed to the landfill ?)
Has anyone studied that ?
I don’t know of any studies but they may have been done. It would need a lot of leachate to produce much gas around in water-bearing strata around the landfill. Wouldn’t those need to be pretty unusual geological circumstances?
does a leachate plume off gas methane gas in significant quantities once it leaves the waste fill area ?
I have not known of a case specifically, and in most cases if it were to produce much gas, the leachate would be getting out of the landfill so the much larger volume of LFG I would expect usually also to be present migrating from within the landfill would be a bigger source and mask any methane produced in any anaerobic zones in the ground around the landfill.
I cannot get over the size of the leachate lagoon in the picture on this page. That’s a whole lot of smelly leachate!
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I’m in my home town of Ocotlan,Jalisco,Mexico down here even though they have an understanding of what good trash separation should be,they don’t fully understand that separation is the first step and if not done correctly oh well we are wiasting a lot of time.That’s first,getting to the Leachate,they have no idea what damage it will do or is doing to the surrounding land and water table for that matter.I like my town and understand that money is tight but to openly disregard the danger that the Leachate will do is wrong,HELP.How to handle this,please if you have any suggestions,share them and I will pass them on.Or better yet I will eventually give you there email address,thanks
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