Characterization and electrocaogulative treatment of nanofiltration concentrate of a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant

In this study, characterization and electrocoagulative treatability of nanofiltration concentrate from a full-scale landfill leachate treatment plant (Istanbul, Turkey) were investigated. The average concentrations of COD, TKN and ammonia were determined as 6200, 587.5, and 110 mg/L, respectively. Membrane concentrate also have almost neutral pH, high conductivity and color. Besides, nanofiltration concentrate contains low metal concentrations. After the characterization of the concentrate, treatment of the concentrate by electrocoagulation method with aluminum plate electrodes was investigated. The effects of electrode type, current intensity and treatment time on the treatment of nanofiltration concentrate by EC process were investigated. According to the results, the most acceptable current intensity for COD, color, and phosphorus removal was determined to be 15.9 mA/cm2 and the most acceptable treatment time was determined to be 30 min. The treatment efficiencies for COD, color, and phosphorus at 15.9 mA/cm2 and 30 min were determined as 45%, 60%, and 91.8%, respectively. According to the results of this study, EC process may be an acceptable solution for the treatment of leachate nanofiltration concentrate. More detailed studies however need to be done for the determination of the optimum operational parameters of the electrocoagulative treatment of membrane concentrate.

Research Highlights
► Characterization of nanofiltration concentrate of landfill leachate treatment plant.
► Effective removal of color (45%), COD (60%), and phosphorus (91.8%).
► EC process is an acceptable solution for the treatment of nanofiltration concentrate.