Removal of non-biodegradable compounds from stabilized leachate using VSEPRO membrane filtration

In this paper, the technical applicability of the vibratory shear-enhanced processing reverse osmosis (VSEPRO) membrane system for the treatment of stabilized leachate from the NENT landfill in Hong Kong was studied using both 99 and 96% NaCl rejection membranes. The performance of VSEPRO for NH3-N and COD removal was evaluated and compared to the performances of other individual and/or combined treatments from other studies. Without any pH adjustment, it was found that the rejection rates of VSEPRO were 96% for COD and 98% for NH3-N with initial COD and/or NH3-N concentrations of 8000 and 2620 mg/L, respectively. It was evident that pH adjustment of raw leachate to acidic conditions (pH 6.0) slightly improved the rejection rates for COD (97%) and NH3-N (99.6%). These results were satisfactory compared to other physicochemical treatments. It is important to note that the treatment of leachate using VSEPRO was able to meet the local effluent limit for COD of lower than 200 mg/L and for NH3-N of less than 5 mg/L. This result suggests that VSEPRO is technically applicable and appealing for the treatment of stabilized leachate.