Use Of Leachate Research Articles

The Cultivation of Spirulina maxima in a Medium Supplemented with Leachate for the Production of Biocompounds: Phycocyanin, Carbohydrates, and Biochar

Cyanobacteria are microorganisms that grow rapidly in an aquatic medium, showing the capacity of accumulations of biocompounds subsequently converted into value-added biocompounds. The cyanobacterium Spirulina maxima can produce pigments besides accumulating significant amounts of carbohydrates and proteins. An alternative to reducing biomass production costs at an industrial scale is the use of landfill leachate in the growing medium, as well as the mitigation of this pollutant. The objective of this work was to cultivate Spirulina maxima in a medium supplemented with leachate, using the design of experiments to evaluate the effects of leachate concentration (% v/v), light source, and light intensity in an airlift photobioreactor, analyzing them as a response to the productivity of biomass, phycocyanin, carbohydrates, and biochar. The highest values of productivity (mg L−1d−1) were 97.44 ± 3.20, 12.82 ± 0.38, 6.19 ± 1.54, and 34.79 ± 3.62 for biomass, carbohydrates, phycocyanin, and biochar, respectively, adjusted for experiment 2 with the factors of leachate concentration (5.0% v/v), light source (tubular LED), and luminosity (54 µmol m−2 s−1), respectively. The use of leachate as a substitute for macronutrients in Zarrouk’s medium for the cultivation of Spirulina maxima is a viable alternative in the production of biocompounds as long as it is used at an appropriate level.

Toxic and Biodegradation Potential of Waste Tires for Microorganisms Based on Two Experimental Designs

Waste tires from traffic are a well-known environmental problem today. For this reason, the toxicity and potential biodegradation of crushed tires were tested in a respiration test with microorganisms. A non-specific soil microbial community was used. Two experimental designs and their effect on the results were compared—a test with the eluate from tires and a contact test, i.e., the solution containing tire particles during the test. The consumption of dissolved oxygen was measured in the assay over 28 days. The values obtained indicated zero biodegradation of all samples, but the toxicity of the eluates to microorganisms was different depending on whether the microorganisms were exposed only to the leachate or whether tire shred particles were still present in the leachate. In the presence of particles in solutions, the toxicity of the samples for microorganisms was higher. Additionally, the MTT (methyl tetrazolium test) viability assay was performed. The results indicated a 28% inhibition of the viability of microorganisms in samples with tire particles in comparison with eluate, where 9% inhibition was observed. The results confirmed that the contact assay (with the presence of particles) is a more natural and thorough method than the use of leachate.

A feasibility study of municipal solid waste leachate utilisation in concrete

Water was replaced with raw municipal solid waste leachate in a concrete mix. Compared with the control specimen (prepared with freshwater), the hardened concrete specimen made with 100% leachate and cured in freshwater for 28 days showed reductions of 20% in ultrasonic pulse velocity and 45% in unconfined compressive strength. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that an increase in leachate content increased the microscopic pores and cracks within concrete owing to organic matter in the leachate. Heavy metals are contaminants in leachate and can leak from leachate-produced concrete. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure revealed that the heavy metal leakage of the 100% leachate specimen was lower than the maximum permissible range. Furthermore, the use of leachate in fresh cement paste induced a 56 min delay in initial setting compared with the control specimen. Slump measurements performed 0, 30 and 60 min after concrete fabrication indicated that leachate addition could double the concrete slump as compared with the control specimen. This research provides basic information for the use of raw leachate in concrete mixes. Fresh and hardened concrete properties decreased with an increase in the percentage of leachate in the mix design. Replacement of tap water with 10% leachate satisfied the US standard for ready-mixed concrete. Further investigations are recommended to approve the use of leachate as a part of concrete mixing water.

The use of a regression model in the variability analysis of the leachate quality from heaps of the production of the building materials

An attempt to evaluate potential hazard for quality of manufactured construction elements and concrete in case of use of leachate as technological water was made in this paper. This may lead to negative impact on strength parameters of the product made in the analysed company. Raw industrial leachate must not be discharged into sewerage system due to increased concentrations of some mineral components; it must be initially purified. Selected elements of multiple regression module and principal components analysis were used to describe the above phenomena. The model we have developed uses selected significant parameters of pollutants contained in leachate from a process industrial waste heap. The model takes into account leachate conductivity and sulphate ions, in which increased lead compounds concentration was determined. The model was verified during its use. The variables used in the model explain the significant percentage of variability noted for the dependent variable.

A feasibility study on production of concrete blocks using treated municipal solid waste leachate.

Increased water demand due to population growth and industrialization has led to increased water consumption. Hence, it is required to find an alternative to water in different industries. Concrete represents a remarkable water-consuming industry. The present study investigates whether the treated leachate of municipal landfills can be employed as a substitute for water in the concrete mixing scheme. For this purpose, concrete samples fabricated at different concentrations of treated leachates were compared to the control sample containing distilled water in terms of unconfined compressive strength (UCS) at the ages of 7 and 28days. The experimental results revealed treated leachate accelerated the cement setting time by nearly 15min and increased concrete slumping by 16%. The complete replacement of distilled water with treated leachate decreased UCS by 25% (from 50 to 38MPa). The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and ultrasonic results showed that a rise in the treated leachate content of concrete increased porosity. Increased porosity would reduce UCS. Leaking of heavy metals existing in the leachate should be also investigated for the solidified matrices. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) revealed that heavy metals leaching in all the samples are in the acceptable range. Results have shown that the use of leachate up to a concentration of 20% can be used in concrete, and the solidified product can also stabilize the pollutants, successfully. It is a valuable finding because using treated leachate as a practical additive in the concrete can prevent environmental contamination.

Potentials use of leachate for turfgrass irrigation on soil coverage landfill Suwung Bali

Climate change affect water quality and impact water resources and water supply thus using leachate for grass irrigation is hard choice. Suwung landfill is the largest landfill in Bali and was planted with turfrass and arranged as a park. This study aims to determine the potential use of leachate water for irrigation of turfgrass and determine the type of grass that is survive and suitable for landfills cover and irrigated with leachate water. The study was survey of field and observation by purposive sampling to observe the growth of grass and followed by analysis of the characteristics of leachate water and well water and soil. Results showed that using non potable water landfill leachate for irrigation of turfgrass during one year showed local seashore paspalum grew well, local Bermuda and Zoysia matrella showed relatively less growth inhibition than the Bermuda hybrid and Axonopus compressus. Grass growth on top hills is more survival than in slope and foot hill areas.

A review on the prospective use of chicken manure leachate in high-rate anaerobic reactors

The global production of chicken arises over the world, which leads to increasing manure generation and environmental problems. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a well-known process to produce biogas from biomass. Chicken manure (CM) is considered as a feedstock for biogas production due to its high organic load, but there are some challenges to be considered, such as the heterogeneity and the high solid content. To overcome these issues, pretreatments techniques that enhance biogas production could be used. In this context, the use of the leachate process for CM pretreatment could be a novel alternative producing an easily biodegradable liquid substrate for AD. High-rate anaerobic reactors (HRAR), as mature technologies in the market, represent an opportunity for its technological simplicity and economy. Improvements of AD with leaching pretreatment were studied considering the use of HRAR as recent achievements to produce biogas and perspectives in the world. For mathematical modeling, the leaching process with CM as substrate, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods are presented as a numerical simulation tool for a better understanding of the process. The integration of the leaching-efficient AD process in a biorefinery approach in a developing country using CM as a substrate could diversify its productions, in addition to reducing emissions to the environment. The results obtained became a tool for decision-makers and researchers about the implementation of leaching pretreatment prior to high-efficiency technologies for CM management in Poultry Farms to obtain the highest benefits, not only in Cuba but also in other developing countries with a similar situation. Production of biogas from CM is a technical solution that contributes to substitute fossil fuels by renewable energy.

Optimization of the proportions of four wastewaters in a blend for the cultivation of microalgae using a mixture design

A 2nd degree mixture design was used to determine the optimal blend prepared from four wastewater streams to produce microalgae-based biomass. The streams consisted of a liquid digestate from an anaerobic digestion process, a landfill leachate, a septic-system sludge treatment plant liquid, and a wastewater treatment plant effluent. The mixture regression analysis indicated that blends with higher proportions of treated effluent and digestate improved cells growth, while the use of leachate was detrimental to the growth. The global solution of the mixture optimization predicted a maximum value of biomass productivity of 22.76 mg L−1 d−1, in a blend consisting of 19% treated effluent, 21% digestate, and 60% water. Proportions of leachate higher than 13.33% were detrimental to the growth. The concentration of ammonia-N in the blends ranged from 0.39 to 150 mg L−1 d−1, and its toxicity effect on the cells diminished with increasing amounts of organic carbon in the cultivation medium.

Recovery of landfill leachate as culture medium for two microalgae: Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus sp.

The microalgae culture medium should contain essential nutrients for their optimal growth. However, landfill leachate contains these nutrients; merely, the use of leachate in the cultivation of microalgae is not conceivable because of its high toxicity. This survey proposes to demonstrate the growth performance in terms of biomass production, chlorophyll contents and cell morphology of two microalgae, namely Chlorella sp. and Scenedesmus sp., in different concentrations of leachate (10%, 30%, 50%, 80% and 100% (v/v) crude leachate). Changes in chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4+–N) and salinity content were also monitored. Results showed that when the two algae were mixed, the culture medium containing 10% (v/v) of leachate caused an optimal and selective growth of Chlorella and a total mortality for Scenedesmus cells. Also, this culture medium containing 10% (v/v) of leachate promoted the cell growth of Chlorella sp., of around 2 times in terms of cell density and 10 times in terms of chlorophyll content as compared to the result obtained for the standard culture medium “Bold’s Basal Medium (BBM).” Abatement rates of COD, NH4+–N and salinity of 60%, 100% and 10% were, respectively, achieved by pure cultures of Chlorella sp. Therefore, the strain of Chlorella sp. appeared resistant in this unfriendly environment as compared to the strain of Scenedesmus sp. As a perspective, the tested landfill leachate could be convenient for culturing Chlorella sp. for leachate purification and biofuel production.

Potential use of leachate from composted fruit and vegetable waste as fertilizer for corn

Composting fruit and vegetable waste from grocery stores on farms is a challenge due to the large quantity of liquid that leaches out. This leachate needs to be characterized for its effects on pla...

The flame characteristics of the biogas has produced through the digester method with various starters

Increasing the volume of waste, especially in urban areas is a source of problems in realizing the comfort and health of the environment. It needs to do a good handling of garbage so as to provide benefits for the whole community. Organic waste processing through bio-digester method to produce a biogas as an energy source is an effort. This research was conducted to test the characteristics of biogas flame generated from organic waste processing through digester with various of the starter such as: cow dung, goat manure, and leachate that obtained from the landfill at Bagendung–Cilegon. The flame height and maximum temperature of the flame are measured for the same pressure of biogas. The measurements showed the flame produced by bio-digester with leachate starter has the lowest flame height compared to the other types of biogas, and the highest flame height is given by biogas from digester with cow dung as a starter. The maximum flame temperature of biogas produced by leachate as a starter reaches 1027 °C. This value is 7% lower than the maximum flame temperature of biogas produced by cow dung as a starter. Cow dung was observed to be the best starter compared to goat manure and leachate, but the use of leachate as a starter in producing biogas with biodigester method is not the best but it worked.

Domestic Solid Waste Landfills: Experimental Analysis of Leachate Stripping Technique

The domestic solid waste (DSW) landfills activity is based on the natural processes of organic substances decomposition through their processing into other substances by micro-organisms. Such micro-organisms can only live in water or, in other words, they exist only in the aquatic environment, both in natural environment and under artificial conditions, e.g. in DSW landfill sites. This paper investigates the problem of DSW landfills leachate preparation for the reuse as irrigation water. Leachate is formed as an inescapable side-product of DSW landfills operation. Leachate is a result of precipitations and artificial irrigation contaminated by substances of microbiological decomposition and destruction of organic substances coming to landfill sites as domestic solid waste. The use of leachate as irrigation water will significantly change the DSW decomposition technology and the safety of landfill sites operations.

Landfill leachate enhances fermentative hydrogen production from glucose and sugarcane processing derivatives

Fermentation can use renewable raw materials as substrate, which makes it a sustainable method to obtain H2. This study evaluates H2 production by a mixed culture from substrates such as glucose and derivatives from sugarcane processing (sucrose, molasses, and vinasse) combined with landfill leachate. The leachate alone was not a suitable substrate for biohydrogen production. However, leachate blended with glucose, sucrose, molasses, or vinasse increased the H2 production rate by 2.0-, 2.8-, 4.6-, and 0.5-fold, respectively, as compared with the substrates without the leachate. Determination of metals (Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni, and Fe) at the beginning and at the end of the fermentative assays showed how they were consumed during the fermentation and demonstrated improved H2 production. During fermentation, Cu, Fe, and Cd were the most consumed leachate metals. The best substrate combination to produce H2 was molasses and leachate, which gave high volumetric productivity—469 ml H2/l h. However, addition of the leachate to the substrates stimulated lactic acid formation pathways, which lowered the H2 yield. The use of leachate combined with sugarcane processing derivatives as substrates could add value to the leachate and reduce its polluting power, generating a clean energy source from renewable raw materials.

Managing the leachate at the regional landfill in Kikinda

In developed, industrial countries, there is 1.2kg waste per capita, waste being collected and disposed of in regulated, sanitary landfills, which have systems for the protection of groundwater and air from pollutants, in Serbia, the largest number of landfills does not meet even the basic safety criteria for environmental protection. Several municipalities in Serbia began with the organization of the regional waste management system and within that frame, the construction of regional landfills which meet European standards in terms of environmental protection. The paper presents a method of management and use of leachate at the regional waste landfill 'ASA', Kikinda.

Towards a method for optimized extraction of soluble nutrients from fresh and composted chicken manures

A preliminary method for extraction of soluble nutrients from organic materials is presented that investigates important characteristics of design for efficient extraction. The study was conducted in Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) columns (length: 50 and 100mm, diameter: 87.5mm) filled with fresh and composted chicken manures, packed to densities in the range of 0.2–0.6gcm−3. The columns were leached with distilled water. A total of 5cm3 of water per cm3 of material was applied. Leachate collection was sequentially partitioned to enable determination of soluble nutrients throughout time, including: total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), water soluble phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Waste material state, density of packing and lengths of column all significantly (P<0.05) affected the concentration of ions in the leachate. In general, longer contact time between the percolating water and the material resulted in higher (P<0.05) concentration of ions in the leachate. Cumulative TDN and water soluble-P were greater (P<0.05) in fresh manure leachates, compared with compost leachates. Although, compost leachates provided relatively greater (P<0.05) concentration of K. Salinity ionic concentration of leachates, determined as Na and Cl, was consistently greater from fresh manure as compared to that from mature compost. Fresh manure and mature compost were determined to provide different responses to nutrient leaching because of differences in physico-chemical characteristics. Saturated hydraulic conductivity in fresh manure columns reduced rapidly with application of water to the columns. The mechanisms involved in this process are discussed with the implication for nutrient extraction and use of leachate from chicken manure waste sources.

Vermicompost leachate as a supplement to increase tomato fruit quality

Due to low yields, organic agriculture cannot satisfy the global demand for food, although it can provide products of higher nutraceutical quality. The objective of this research was to incorporate vermicompost leachates (VCLs) into an irrigation system during tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Rafaello) cultivation to evaluate their effects on the lycopene, β-carotene, and phenolic content of tomatoes and on the physical and chemical soil variables. To evaluate the effects of VCLs, three types of substrates were used to create VCLs: mushroom waste (MSHW), leaf-cutting ant waste (LCAW), and cow compost (CC). A total of 0.1 L of leachate per plant was added as a supplement to a nutrient solution (NS) and applied once weekly, twice weekly, or every fifteen days to three different treatments for each leachate. All VCLs had a positive effect on the production of lycopene; the best results were obtained by the application of the MSHW (78 mg kg-1 fresh weight). The VCL decreased the presence of ions phytotoxic to plants by 99% and improved the soil structure by increasing the amount of organic matter and the hydraulic conductivity. However, the VCL had no effect on the physiological variables. The results support the use of leachate from CC via fertigation twice a week at a dose of 0.1 L plant-1 because it increases lycopene content by 67%.

Phytoremediation of landfill leachate and compost wastewater by irrigation of Populus and Salix: Biomass and growth response

A pot experiment is described with a fast-growing poplar clone and two native willows ( Populus deltoides Bartr. cl. I-69/55 (Lux)), Salix viminalis L. and Salix purpurea L.), irrigated with landfill leachate and compost wastewater over a 1-year growing period. The use of leachate resulted in up to 155% increased aboveground biomass compared to control water treatments and in up to 28% reduced aboveground biomass compared to a complete nutrient solution. The use of compost wastewater resulted in up to 62% reduced aboveground biomass compared to the control treatments and in up to 86% reduced aboveground biomass compared to the complete nutrient solution. Populus was the most effective in biomass production due to the highest leaf production, whereas S. purpurea was the least effective in biomass accumulation, but less sensitive to high ionic strength of the irrigation water compared to S. viminalis. The results showed a high potential for landfill leachate application (with up to 2144 kg N ha −1, 144 kg P ha −1, 709 kg K ha −1, 1010 kg Cl ha −1, and 1678 kg Na ha −1 average mass load in the experiment). High-strength compost wastewater demonstrated less potential for application as irrigation and fertilization source even in high water-diluted treatments (1:8 by volume).

Selecting and Utilizing Populus and Salix for Landfill Covers: Implications for Leachate Irrigation

The success of using Populus and Salix for phytoremediation has prompted further use of leachate as a combination of irrigation and fertilization for the trees. A common protocol for such efforts has been to utilize a limited number of readily-available genotypes with decades of deployment in other applications, such as fiber or windbreaks. However, it may be possible to increase phytoremediation success with proper genotypic screening and selection, followed by the field establishment of clones that exhibited favorable potential for clean-up of specific contaminants. There is an overwhelming need for testing and subsequent deployment of diverse Populus and Salix genotypes, given current availability of clonal material and the inherent genetic variation among and within these genera. Therefore, we detail phyto-recurrent selection, a method that consists of revising and combining crop and tree improvement protocols to meet the objective of utilizing superior Populus and Salix clones for remediation applications. Although such information is lacking for environmental clean-up technologies, centuries of plant selection success in agronomy, horticulture, and forestry validate the need for similar approaches in phytoremediation. We bridge the gap between these disciplines by describing project development, clone selection, tree establishment, and evaluation of success metrics in the context of their importance to utilizing trees for phytoremediation.

Plants' Use of Leachate Derived from Municipal Solid Waste

AbstractLeachate was collected from a watertight pit at a landfill center dealing mainly with household refuse and plant waste. This effluent was characterized by a moderate organic matter content, a pH slightly higher than neutral and strong electrical conductivity. This latter was due to the presence of chlorides, Na, K, and ammonium. The organic content could be divided into two fractions: Fraction A consisting of large molecules (5000 Da and above) and Fraction B of smaller (between 300 to 1000 Da), more acidic molecules. The presence of phenols (sinapic acid, acetosyringone, and pyrogallol) could be identified in the leachate as a whole. A biological treatment of this leachate, involving methanization followed by aerated lagooning, was set up on the site: this led to a reduction of nearly 60% in the organic content and almost total elimination of the ammonium. This treatment was not however sufficient to allow direct evacuation of the resulting effluent into the surface ground water. As heavy metals were absent from this effluent, the leachates from this landfill site could possibly be envisaged in the fertilization of soil‐grown crops or for furrow irrigation‐fertilization of tree plantations. The effect of irrigating soil‐grown plants with a solution of leachate was examined using pots of ryegrass (Lolium sp.). Application of solutions containing dilutions of 1 to 400 mL L−1 of this effluent had a highly favorable effect on plant growth. Toxicity phenomena were apparent above this concentration. The optimum effect on ryegrass growth, under the conditions of this trial, was obtained by watering each pot with 30 mL of a solution containing 400 mL L−1 of leachate, every 2 d. This solution improved water and N nutrition in these plants.