Combination of air stripping and biological processes for landfill leachate treatment

Landfill waste decomposition generates a dark effluent named, leachate which is characterized by high organic matter content. To minimize these polluting effects, it becomes necessary to develop an effective landfill leachate treatment process. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of an innovative approach based on air stripping, anaerobic digestion (AD) and aerobic activated sludge treatment. A reduction of 80% of ammonia and an increase of carbon to nitrogen ratio to 25 were obtained, which is a suitable ratio for AD. This latter AD was performed in fixed bed reactor with progressive loading rate that reached 2 and 3.2 g COD/L/d for the raw and diluted leachate (1:2), respectively. The anaerobic treatment led to significant removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biogas production, especially for the diluted leachate. The COD removal was of 78% for the raw leachate and a biogas production of 4 L/d with 70% methane content. The use of the diluted leachate led to 81% of COD removal and 7 L/d biogas with 75% methane content. It allowed a removal of 77% COD and more than 97% of the organic compounds present in the initial leachate sampl

Déchets du centre d’enfouissement technique de Sfax (Tunisie) : nature, composition et traitement

Landfilling is the strategy adopted in Tunisia to ensure sustainable solid waste management. The Sfax controlled landfill is one of the technical landfills that have been set up. This study presents the main categories and characteristics of household waste buried in the Sfax controlled landfill, as well as the physic-chemical and micro-biological properties of the generated leachates. The leachates treatment processes applied at the station level are presented and their performance is discussed. The results of the waste characterization show the dominance of the potentially biodegradable fermentable fraction (69%). The distribution by particle size of the waste shows a dominance of the average fraction whose particle size is between 20 and 100mm. The characterization of leachates generated shows the presence of a high organic load that is difficult to biodegrade, a high content of ammoniacal nitrogen and recalcitrant compounds such as phenols. We also note the presence of some micro-pollutants minerals and certain pathogens. The toxic nature of leachates has been demonstrated by microtoxicity and phytotoxicity tests. The monitoring of the operation of the leachates treatment plant shows a significant variability of the quantities treated, which explains the filling of the storage ponds.La mise en décharge est le mode de gestion adoptée en Tunisie pour assurer une gestion des déchets solides. Le centre d’enfouissement technique (CET) de la région de Sfax constitue l’un des principaux centres qui ont été mis en place en Tunisie depuis 2009. L’objectif de ce travail est d’identifier les principales catégories et caractéristiques des déchets ménagers enfouis dans le CET de Sfax, ainsi que les propriétés physico-chimiques et microbiologiques des lixiviats générés. Dans ce travail, les procédés de traitement appliqués aux lixiviats du CET de Sfax ont également été présentés et évalués.Les résultats de la caractérisation des déchets montrent la prédominance de la fraction fermentescible potentiellement biodégradable (69 %). La répartition granulométrique des déchets montre une prépondérance de la fraction moyenne dont la granulométrie est comprise entre 20 et 100 mm. La caractérisation des lixiviats générés montre la présence d’une forte charge organique difficilement biodégradable, une forte teneur en azote ammoniacal et en composés récalcitrants tels que les phénols. On note également la présence de quelques micropolluants minéraux et de certains germes pathogènes. Le caractère toxique des lixiviats a été démontré à travers les tests de microtoxicité et de phytotoxicité. Les fluctuations de débit et de charge sont responsables des perturbations observées dans le fonctionnement de la station

Evaluation of influence of coagulation/flocculation and Fenton oxidation with iron on landfill leachate treatment

Landfill leachates (LFL) collected from Sfax (Tunisia) discharge area are characterized by high chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium and salts contents. They constitute a source of phytotoxicity and pollution for ground water and surface water resources which requires an adequate treatment process. To evaluate the efficiency of the coagulation/flocculation treatment, special attention was paid to the effect of pH, coagulant and flocculant doses. Then, effect of zero valent iron was also studied alone and in combination with coagulation/flocculation pretreatment. Our results indicate high removal efficiencies by coagulation/flocculation (46% COD and 63% turbidity) and Fenton process (48% COD and 76% turbidity). The combined application of coagulation/flocculation and Fenton revealed higher COD removal (62%) and turbidity reduction (90%). These results showed the applicability of this combined treatment method for the degradation of organic compounds and reduction of the treated leachate toxicity