Copper, Cadmium and Ferrous Removal by Membrane Bioreactor

One of the important concerns in Tehran municipal landfill is the production of leachate and its potential for water resources pollution. This paper investigates the removal of heavy metals from landfill leachate by using a membrane Bioreactor (MBR). The leachate was collected from a landfill in the vicinity of Tehran nearly 1 year old, The results of this study indicated that the system provided high removals of Fe, Cu and Cd equal to 96%, 23% and 84% respectively and heavy metal concentration in MBR effluent is a function of aeration ratio and bioaccumulation. Among the metals investigated in the present study it can be concluded that the extracellular adsorption, is the principal removal process of the metals, compared to other removal mechanisms such as bioaccumulation or intracellular accumulation.