Title: Electrochemical treatment of landfill leachate

Authors: C. Ramprasad; A. Navaneetha Gopalakrishnan

Addresses: EWRE Department (Civil), IIT Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. ' Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Electrochemical methods can offer an elegant contribution towards environmental control as electrons provide a means of removing pollutants by redox reactions. In the process of electrochemical oxidation the main aim has been to convert oxidisable species into carbon dioxide. Leachate originating in landfills is complex wastewater that could exert high environmental impact. This study aims to treat the landfill leachate in order to meet the inland disposal standards. The removal of pollutants was studied with different anode materials in electrochemical process. The treatment of leachate by electrochemical oxidation was carried out in a batch electrolytic parallel plate reactor. The electrochemical process was carried out separately with stainless steel as cathode and anode materials aluminium and titanium/platinum electrodes. The effects of the operating factors such as current density, reaction time, chloride ion concentration, additional electrolyte such as sulphuric acid that influence the removal of pollutant from leachate electrochemically were studied.

Keywords: contaminants; electrochemical oxidation; electrodes; landfill leachate; redox; environmental pollution; wastewater treatment; waste management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2012.049235

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2012 Vol.15 No.3/4/5/6, pp.377 - 387

Published online: 17 Dec 2014 *

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