Tuesday 8 August 2017

An Insight into the Many Aspects of Landfill Leachate Treatment Systems

Rivers and freshwater lakes which constitute 0.007% of the world’s water supply are the source of most of the water people use.  Despite population growth, water withdrawals, use and consumption can be managed as a sustainable resource.  Although there are many options for water recovery and recycling, the major challenge is to overcome the effects of the uneven distribution of water.  The best way to mitigate these effects is to recycle contaminated water for uses other than as potable water, for irrigation, mining or other industrial processes.

One significant and common cause of water contamination is when it comes in contact with a landfill.  In scientific terms, it is termed as landfill leachate.


In landfills that are inadequately sealed, ground water ingression or rain water percolating through the landfill create a contaminated complex liquid or leachate. In both cases, there is a need of an effective Landfill Leachate Treatment System to ensure reuse of the wastewater.


There are leachate treatment technologies that are available today to serve as an effective leachate collection and removal system (LCRS) which reduce the cost of traditional methods such as hauling leachate to a local wastewater treatment plant. Some of the preferred technologies in the field include: biological treatment, physical/chemical treatment and evaporation. However, considering the process volume, contaminants present and requirements for proper discharge, a combination of technologies will often be the best solution.  The most cost-effective technologies include ultrafiltration (UF), membrane bioreactors (MBR) and reverse osmosis (RO).


RO, under some feed concentration levels is a promising technique as the permeate discharge values obtainable are lower than what may be achieved with any other procedure. If there is an absence of inorganic impurities in the wastewater, this would be an ideal feed system for RO as a prime leachate treatment system that offers the excellent results.

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