Abstract
This paper provides an alternative treatment system for landfill gas and leachate control in order to reduce the energy consumption and disposal cost, using the recycled landfill gas as the combustion promoter for incineration of the leachate. This study starts by providing a literature review to summarize and analyze different approaches being applied to landfill leachate treatment. Subsequently, a conceptual prototype is proposed, which can be built using existing technology by means of technical possibility analysis, whilst economic benefits could be returned through preliminary comparison. With the proposed introduction of a “waste treatment park”, this alternative treatment system could provide a template for leachate and landfill gas control. This study may provide an insight for landfill operators and engineers to promote the transformation from the conceptual framework to the real achievement. Finally, the limitations of the conceptual model and analysis are discussed, laying a foundation for further work.
Highlights
With the development of urbanization, the disposal of waste has become a major issue of worldwide concern
Because leachate contains harmful and complex compounds, i.e. organic matter leading to high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), and heavy metals, e.g., iron, copper etc [3], leachate can adversely affect plant growth, contaminate the drinking water and impair the ecosystem as it penetrates the soils or groundwater.leachate treatment is one of the most difficult problems to handle, as it could be released from the start of landfill operations until potentially many decades after closure [4]
Based on the above discussion, it is considered that the main technical specifications for the conceptual prototype of alternative treatment system can be embodied by existing technology, through which landfill gas will be recovered as the combustion improver for incineration, combined with thermal treatment of the leachate
Summary
With the development of urbanization, the disposal of waste has become a major issue of worldwide concern. Development may be broadly defined as “the principles of the current process of economic and technological development to ensure that the use of environmental resources to satisfy present demands is managed in a way that they are not left so damaged or impoverished they cannot be used by future generations” [5] In this context, landfill gas (LFG), if uncontrolled, is considered as one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions, especially in producing large amounts of methane, which is about 21 times more potent than CO2 [6]. A conceptually alternative treatment system is presented below to control leachate and landfill gas, to reduce the environmental risk and carbon footprint, as well as to save energy and the cost of disposal
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