Physical-chemical pre-treatment of sanitary landfill raw leachate by direct ascending filtration.

Several environmental problems in Brazil are caused by the accelerated urban and industrial growth and by the multiplicity of urban waste generated. Waste disposal in landfills is still common practice in Brazil. This work was conducted in sand filters and activated carbon column, proposing an alternative for the physical-chemical treatment of leachate as a pre-treatment to preserve the biological process. The results showed reductions of up to 74% for COD, 47% for BOD5, 93% for color, 90% for ammonia and an increase from 0.3 to 0.9 in the BOD5/COD ratio. Although the results obtained do not fall within the limits of the legislation, the results for ammonia concentration was reduced by 33.25% and 85.37% after filtration and activated carbon column treatment respectively. The use of activated carbon columns resulted in an excellent performance in the reduction of heavy metals in the leachate. The performance demonstrated a removal of 60-96%. Limitations were found in the length of the filtration races, as a limiting factor in the process. The results show the potential of using direct upward filtration with sand and activated carbon filters for the treatment of landfill leachate.

Pré-tratamento de lixiviados de aterros sanitários por filtração direta ascendente e coluna de carvão ativado / Landfill leachate pre-treatment by upflow direct filtration and column of activated carbon

Vários problemas ambientais no Brasil decorrem do acelerado crescimento dos setores produtivos e, consequentemente, da multiplicidade dos resíduos sólidos urbanos gerados. A disposição destes em aterros sanitários é prática comum; entretanto, essa deposição requer medidas de proteção ambiental, incluindo o tratamento dos lixiviados. Este trabalho, conduzido em filtros de areia e coluna de carvão ativado, trata de proposta de tratamento físico-químico do lixiviado como alternativa ao processo biológico. No que se refere ao processo de filtração, observaram-se reduções de até 74 por cento para DQO, 47 por cento para DBO, 93 por cento para cor, 90 por cento para amônia e aumento de 0,3 para 0,9 na relação DBO5/DQO. Constataram-se limitações com relação à duração das carreiras de filtração, para o que se sugere avaliar outras granulometrias de areia e até mesmo tecnologias de tratamento.

Several environmental problems in Brazil are due to the rapid growth of various productive sectors, and the resulting qualitative multiplicity of municipal solid waste that are generated. The disposal of solid waste in landfills is a common practice; however, it requires environment protection measures, including the treatment of leachate. This work conducted in sand filters and activated carbon column refers to physical and chemical treatment of leachate as an alternative to the biological process. Regarding the filtration process, the results showed reductions of up to 74 percent for COD, 47 percent for BOD, 93 percent for color, 90 percent for ammonia and an increase from 0.3 to 0.9 in BOD5/COD relation. Limitations were found in relation to filtration run, which suggests the evaluation of other size grains and even treatment technologies.