1

Why Reverse Osmosis for Landfill Leachate Treatment ?

Why has

Reverse Osmosis

become the

State-of-the-art-technology

for treating leachate

from landfills across Europe?

2

Leachate Formation in Landfills

Rain

Evaporation

Leachate

Production/Consump-tion by Chemical /

Biological Processes

Waste Humidity

GroundWater

3

Why Treatment of Landfill Leachate ?

4

Rough Mass Balance for components dissolved in Leachate

57%

43% COD

BOD5

85%

15%

In-organic

Municipal Waste Water

Landfill Leachate

Partly

„Hard COD“Not biodegradable

Landfill Leachate Pretreated Waste

>90%

<10%

5

Performance of Processes for Treatment of LL

CO

D

NH

4 -N A

OX

H.

Metals

Advantages Disadvantages

Adsorption at Activated Carbon

Easy Handling, Re-generation possible

Big Qnty of Waste for Disposal / Regenration

Biological Process Suitable as First Treatment Step

Limited Performance, Sludge Disposal required

Chemical Oxidat. Small Qnty of residues High Energy Demand

Evaporation/ Drying

Process suitable for further processing of concentrated liquids

Very high Energy Demand, product for disposal, Material problems

Flocculation/Settling

Easy handling Poor Performance, chemicals required, high sludge quantity

Rembrane Process(Reverse Osmosis)

Best Quality of Purified WaterHigh Availability

Disposal/Infiltration of Residual Leachate (concentrate) necessary

Stripping Usable Product (Ammonia)

Limited Application, Treatm. of Exhaust Gas required

6

Characteristics of RO for LL Treatment

Best Quality of Product Water (Permeate)

Small Footprint

Reliable at variations of Quantity and Quality

Switch-ON / Switch-OFF Operation possible

Plug & Play Installation

Treated LL (Permeate) is utilizable

Modular Construction with high Flexibility

7

Product Water Quality of some Treatment Processes

.

8

Product Water Quality after RO ( 1 / 2 stages)

9

Footprint of Treatment Plants for LL

Biological Treatm. Plant for 4 m³/h (100 m³/d)

10

Footprint of Treatment Plants for LL

RO – Treatment Plant for 4 m³/h (100 m³/d)

11

Indifferent to Variations in LL Composition: COD Removal

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

Date

11/ Jul/

19/ Jul/

1/ Aug/

9/ Aug/

25/ Aug/

7/ Sep/

20/ Sep/

4/ Oct/

24/ Oct/

2/ Nov/

COD RawwaterCOD Permeate

Average: 6547 mg/l

mg/l

Average reduction: 99,88%

Average: 8 mg/l

12

Indifferent to Variations in LL Composition: Ammonia Removal

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

6. J

ul.

12. J

ul.

18. J

ul.

24. J

ul.

30. J

ul.

5. A

ug.

NH4-N RawwaterNH4-N Permeate

13

Switch OFF /Switch ON - Operation

14

“ Plug and Play”: Containerized Mobile Installations

Qd=30 m3/day

Qd=90 m3/day

15

“ Plug and Play”: Modular System Elements

DegazifierDegazifier

System ContainerSystem Container

Electric Power Supply

Electric Power Supply

Raw WaterStorage TankRaw WaterStorage TankTank ContainerTank Container

16

Products of LL Treatment

Utilization / Disposal of Products

Process Bio / Bio + AC Reverse Osmosis

Treated LL

To Sewer (aftertreatment)

No Utilization

Direct Discharge to Nature

Utilization: IrrigationProcess Water

ResiduesSludge to LandfillSpent AC to external Disposal / Regeneration

Concentrate to Landfill orexternal Disposal

17

Products of LL Treatment: Water Management by RO

Source Dr. Peters