Evaluation of physico-chemical pretreatment methods for landfill leachate prior to sewer discharge

• Main Author: Poveda, Mario
• Other Authors: Yuan, Qiuyan (Civil Engineering)
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: leachate; pretreatment; air stripping; chemical coagulation; electro-coagulation; oxidation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30377

The City of Winnipeg, MB currently hauls by truck the leachate from the landfill, to be co-treated with the municipal wastewater at a wastewater treatment plant. Pre-treating the leachate with physico-chemical methods would allow for direct discharge to the sewer system, avoiding transportation. The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of different pre-treatment options as well as their impact on a biological nutrient removal system. In Phase I, the four pre-treatment options evaluated were air stripping, chemical coagulation, electro-coagulation and advanced oxidation with sodium ferrate. Chemical coagulation and air stripping reported the best COD and ammonia removal rates, respectively. Phase II evaluated the effectiveness of the selected pre-treatment methods in the response of a biological treatment system. The pre-treatment was successful in allowing complete nitrification by lowering the influent ammonia concentration. However, if the ratio of leachate to wastewater is low enough; pre-treatment may not be needed as the dilution lowers the impact of the leachate’s higher concentrations.