Sanitary landfill leachate treatment using combined solar photo-Fenton and biological oxidation processes at pre-industrial scale

The efficiency of the combined treatment was evaluated concerning the leachate characteristics' variability after lagooning, availability of solar radiation during the year, and different operational process variables, such as the amount of hydrogen peroxide necessary to reach the required COD target value, biodegradability enhancement during the photo-oxidation process, iron reutilization in consecutive oxidation processes, removal of acidic sludge resulting from the acidification process and leachate temperature/average solar power. The elimination of the remaining organic carbon fraction and nitrogen compounds after the pre-oxidation step was also assessed in an activated sludge biological reactor, under aerobic and anoxic conditions, considering the composition variability of photo-treated leachate. Nitrification and denitrification rates were also evaluated.