Selection of the Most Appropriate Leachate Treatment Methods: Part 1: A Review of Potential Biological Leachate Treatment Methods

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a review of North American and European literature concerning the physical and chemical characteristics of leachate and the biological treatment methods that have been used or could be used to treat leachate. Leachate characteristics of particular interest include five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) , chemical oxygen demand (COD), the BOD5/COD ratio, molecular weight and or size of the organics, volatile fatty acids (VFA’s), ammonia and metals. It is demonstrated that biological leachate treatment is most appropriate when the BOD5/COD ratio is high (i.e. > 0.4) and the molecular weight of the majority of the organics is less than 500 g/mole. Tables summarizing the various biological leachate treatment process loading rates are presented. This paper serves as the basis for two companion papers: ”Selection of the Most Appropriate Leachate Treatment Methods, PART 2 : A Review of Recirculation, Irrigation and Potential Physical-Chemical Treatment Methods” and “Selection of the Most Appropriate Leachate Treatment Methods, PART 3: A Decision Model for Treatment Train Selection”.