Integrated Leachate Treatment Technology

In this chapter, the performance of combined treatment of municipal landfill leachate is reviewed. Although individual physico-chemical treatments are suitable for the removal of heavy metals and hydrolyzation of some organic compounds, a combination of two physico-chemical treatments or physico-chemical and biological is required for optimum treatment of stabilized landfill leachate. A combination of two physico-chemical treatments can give optimum results in removal of recalcitrant organic compounds from stabilized leachate, as reflected by a significant decrease of the COD values after treatment. On the other hand, a combination of physico-chemical and biological treatments is required to achieve effective removal of NH3-N and COD with a substantial amount of biodegradable organic matter. In many cases, physico-chemical treatments are suitable for pre-treatment of stabilized leachate. The objective of this paper is to highlight various types of integrated leachate treatments as it has been difficult to get optimum efficiency from single approached treatment.