Title: Characterisation and treatment of leachates from the municipal sanitary landfill of Thessaloniki, Greece

Authors: A.I. Zouboulis, X. Ntampou, P. Samaras

Addresses: Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece. ' Department of Pollution Control Technologies, Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, GR-50100 Kozani, Greece

Abstract: The optimum treatment technologies of leachates produced from a municipal landfill were studied in this work. Leachates composition ranged from high-strength acidic down to low-strength stabilised leachates, affecting the applicable treatment process. Efficient treatment of fresh leachates was achieved by biological methods, such as the SBR, or the moving bed processes, resulting in increased removal of organic and nitrogen content. However, biological methods were not effective for the treatment of stabilised leachates, containing non-biodegradable compound; physical-chemical methods were proved to be more efficient. The combination of coagulation/flocculation followed by ozonation was an efficient technique, with low effluent COD values, <180 mg/L.

Keywords: landfill leachates; leachate quality; leachate treatment; biological treatment; coagulation; flocculation; ozonation; municipal landfills; Greece.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2009.027403

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2009 Vol.4 No.3/4, pp.385 - 398

Published online: 22 Jul 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article