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Landfill Leachate Waste Water Treatment

 

Article by Rami Elias Kremesti M.Sc., CSci, CEnv, CWEM

 

© 2025 All Rights Reserved – Kremesti Environmental Consulting Ltd

 

Transmutare Substantiarum Basium In Aurum ^TM

 

Introduction

Municipal landfills are engineered disposal facilities designed for the safe and controlled burial of non-hazardous solid waste, including household garbage, non-hazardous materials, and residual materials from waste processing facilities. They are a final stage in the waste disposal process, after options like recycling and waste-to-energy are exhausted. Modern landfills are engineered with liners to prevent groundwater contamination and systems for collecting and managing leachate and landfill gas (methane). As landfill leachate accumulates, it needs to be treated before safe discharge because it contains certain pollutants. 

 

Basic Pollutants

The basic pollutants in municipal landfill leachate are the following:

 

• FOG
• BOD
• COD: surfactants, ammonia, non-biodegradable chemicals, PFAS, color
• Heavy metals/Hardness
• SS
• TDS
• Micro-Plastics
• Gases/Odours

Basic Waste Water Treatment Processes

1. Screening and micro-filtration
2. Oil Water separation/FOG Traps
3. Biological processes, such as aerobic activated sludge to remove BOD and/or nitrify ammonia
4. Membrane separation (MBR) is an effective method for clarifying mixed liquor produced during biological treatment of the leachate.
5. Physicochemical processes are used to remove FOG, metals, ammonia, among other pollutants.
6. Advanced Oxidation Processes – oxidize refractory oragnics
7. RO technology is effective for removing TDS (dissolved salts)
8. Deaerators and/or aerators for removing gases and saturating the effluent with O2
9. GAC filtration – Granulated Activated Carbon can remove COD and heacy metals
10. Anaerobic Digestion for heavy organic sludges can be used to recover Biogas
11. Reed beds are a very effective Nature Based Solution for removing N and P
12. pH correction
13. Odor Treatment – some landfill sites can get real smelly

 

 

Onsite Experiment Conducted on Saturday 20th February 2021 – United Utilities Pink Bank Landfill Site

Kremesti Environmental Consulting Ltd conducted a leachate treatment pilot trial at Pink bank Landfill site in February 2021. It was a very simple experiment: raise the pH so that heavy metals and hardness can precipitate as well as to volatilize ammonia. Add GAC to remove color.  The results were clearly visible in a one pot jar test.

 

Excellent colour removal and floc formation with jar test single pot reaction with GAC and NaOH

The feed water was a yellowish, murky sample.

Excellent floc formation, settling and color removal + ammonia gasification

 

Landfill Leachate Treatment Specialists

Veolia and Tetra Tech are leachate treatment experts in the UK, Wehrle Werk in Germany, Hofstetter in Switzerland, Ovive from France.

 

 

About the Author

 

Rami Elias Kremesti is a chartered water and waste water treatment specialist with over 20 years of experience. He is based in the UK. He holds an M.Sc. in chemistry from the USA.