Treatment of leachate organic matter through sunlight driven processes

Abstract

Leachate from mature, stabilized landfills is recalcitrant in nature resulting from high concentrations of humic substances, such as humic acids and complex poorly defined organic matter. This research focused on the behavior and fate of leachate organic matter (LOM) in aquatic sunlit systems to address the extent and mechanisms of LOM photodegradation by exposing leachate to natural sunlight in central Florida for a period of 90 days. Transformation processes were measured using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, fluorescence excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMs), size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) over the test period. Results of the study suggest that photolytic, and in some cases biological, reactions were responsible for the treatment of LOM shown by transformation of high molecular weight recalcitrant material to lower molecular weight material.

Characteristics of leachate from refuse transfer stations in rural China

“…CDOM has a strong absorption of ultraviolet and visible light, which lead to the dark color of leachate (Lozinski et al, 2019). The composition of CDOM is crucial to how well a given leachate treatment process performs.…”

Evaluating the performance of coupled MFC-MEC with graphite felt/MWCNTs polyscale electrode in landfill leachate treatment, and bioelectricity and biogas production

“…Different types of leachate treatment methods such as leachate recycling, simultaneous treatment with domestic wastewater, physical processes (membrane separation processes such as ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis), chemical (precipitation, coagulation-clotting, chemical oxidation) and biological (aerobic and anaerobic digestion, submerged biological filters, anaerobic sequential batch reactors) or combined purification systems have been reported. But each of these methods has limitations in terms of efficiency, operating costs, and energy consumption [9][10][11][12]. It is necessary to choose easier and cheaper treatment options to minimize contamination caused by leachate and achieve satisfactory discharge quality standards.…”