Experimental investigation and Monte Carlo simulation of landfill leachate treatment using physicochemical method and a non-thermal plasma reactor

Abstract

ABSTRACT Leachate treatment is one of the challenging subjects in the field of waste management. Leachate as a dumpling sites hazardous byproduct due to the high concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and toxic compounds with dark colour is a potential pollutant of the environment, causing a lot of problems in the absence of treatment and direct discharge to the environment. In this study, the combinatory performance of sequential chemical flocculation and coagulation process and non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology on leachate from the Sarāvān city former controlled landfill, Iran, was investigated. The outcomes of Jar test illustrated that hydrated aluminium sulphate (PAC) was selected the best coagulant compared with hydrated aluminium sulphate (HAS) and ferric chloride (FC) to remove suspended solids and colour. The optimised parameters for 10% PAC pre-treatment were obtained 3 g lime and cationic 0.1 g polyelectrolyte per 1 litre of leachate. After pre-treatment by using jar test, NTP was used to remove turbidity, colour, COD and so forth. The sequential system-based all stages of pretreatment and NTP diminished the turbidity and colour removal to 98.6% and 99.2%, respectively. Furthermore, COD, BOD5, TSS, and TDS were also reduced. As a result, combination of pre-treatment and NTP technology are able to remove the landfill leachate effectively. Monte Carlo calculations exhibited that Al3+ and H2O2 had the most effects to decompose HA (Humic acid) compound in physicochemical pre-treatment and treatment stages.