Pretreatment of Quashi landfill leachate using Aeration

Abstract

In this study, three laboratory units were constructed and operated in order to investigate the effect of pre-aeration on removal efficiency of ammonia and organic materials for solid waste leachate from Quashi landfill in Duhok city. The effect of aeration times and pH values on the removal efficiencies were also investigated in this study. Each unit consists of a glass reactor with an effective volume of ten liters supplied by the air pumps and plastic tubes that were used to distribute the air-flow evenly throughout the unit. All units were designed to work in parallel at the same operational conditions. The study program was divided into three stages. In the first stage, the aeration times between (6 to 72) hours were used and the pH value for the leachate was on its original level. Whereas in the second and third stages, the same aeration times where used while the pH values of leachate were adjusted to be 10 and 11. The results of the study showed that; the aeration improves the removal of organic matter and ammonia and the removal efficiencies increase with increasing aeration time. In addition, there is no significant difference in the removal efficiencies of ammonia at pH values equal to 10 and 11.