Abstract
Objective: To understand the effect of microbial treatment on physico-chemical parameters and phytotoxicity of leachate arising from degradation of municipal solid waste. Methods and statistical Analysis: Landfill leachate samples were collected from a municipal landfill site in Mumbai, India at different phases of its degradation cycle. The leachate was subjected to anaerobic treatment using microbial consortium based product CleanMaxx ANB followed by its counterpart CleanMaxx for aerobic treatment. Post treatment, the physico-chemical properties were analysed and the phytotoxicity was assessed using seed germination assay. The results were interpreted using ANOVA. Findings: The physicochemical parameters of the old and fresh leachate samples were analyzed after biological treatment where the percentage COD reduction was 18.97% and 53.87%; percentage ammoniacal nitrogen reduction was 22.78% and 58.8 %; percentage reduction in TDS was 24.8% and 34.76%; percentage reduction in TSS was 24.05% and 23.5% and percentage colour reduction was 25.01% and 34.35% for old and fresh leachate respectively. The aging of landfill leachate sample may have reduced its biodegradable fraction with the increase in the concentration of high molecular compounds and highly toxic compounds, which may hinder with the microbial degradation process. The seed germination bioassay using Cicer arietinum (Bengal gram) seeds revealed that the percentage germination of seeds exposed to untreated leachate samples (both old and fresh) was 11.1 and 22.2% respectively (p<0.05). Microbial treatment of both these samples improved the germination percentage to 88.8% in both cases. Application/Improvements: The improvement in physicochemical properties and reduction in phytotoxicity indicates that the microbial remediation of landfill leachate could treat the top soils and groundwater tables at contaminated sites, making the surrounding land arable.Keywords: Landfill, Leachate, Microbial Degradation, Phytotoxicity
Highlights
The most convenient and wide spread method employed for disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), is deposition in landfills
In order to evaluate the microbial toxicity of the leachate against microorganisms due to the presence of inhibitory compounds, the leachate samples were subjected to a bioassay using the agar well diffusion method[13]
A group of scientists assessed the toxicity of landfill leachate against fish species Clarias gariepinus where they found that the Median Lethal Dose (LD50)of the leachate towards the fingerlings was 36.6% highlighting the toxic nature of the untreated leachate collected, indicative that the leachate could definitely be let into water bodies without treatment[15]
Summary
The most convenient and wide spread method employed for disposal of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), is deposition in landfills. A landfill site is designed to prevent the waste degradation and dispersion of contaminants into the environment. Common problems at landfill sites are: air pollution due obnoxious odours from decomposing organic materials, occupational health hazards to workers in contact with the waste contaminants and its aerosols, contamination of soil and ground water due to leachate percolation[3]. Leachate is the liquid contaminant that seeps through the bottom of the solid waste disposal facilities such as landfills. It contains a variety of dissolved and suspended materials[4]. Major constituents of the leachate are complex organic substances, volatile fatty acids, xenobiotic organic
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