In this research paper, a combination of biofiltration (BF) and electrocoagulation (EC) processes was used for the treatment of sanitary landfill leachate. Landfill leachate is often characterized by the presence of refractory organic compounds (BOD/COD < 0.13). BF process was used as secondary treatment to remove effectively ammonia nitrogen (N-NH4 removal of 94%), BOD (94% removed), turbidity (95% removed) and phosphorus (more than 98% removed). Subsequently, EC process using magnesium-based anode was used as tertiary treatment. The best performances of COD and color removal from landfill leachate were obtained by applying a current density of 10 mA/cm(2) through 30 min of treatment. The COD removal reached 53%, whereas 85% of color removal was recorded. It has been proved that the alkalinity had a negative effect on COD removal during EC treatment. COD removal efficiencies of 52%, 41% and 27% were recorded in the presence of 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 g/L of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), respectively. Hydroxide ions produced at the cathode electrode reacted with the bicarbonate ions to form carbonates. The presence of bicarbonates in solution hampered the increase in pH, so that the precipitation of magnesium hydroxides could not take place to effectively remove organic pollutants.
In Canada, the piggery industry is an essential part of the agricultural sector, but the main waste product of this industry, swine slurry, is particularly harmful to the environment. The anaerobic storage conditions and the excessive use of slurry for agricultural fertilization contribute, respectively, to the emission of greenhouse gases and to aquatic pollution. This paper provides a review of these environmental concerns and of the existing mitigation technologies. Water pollution from swine slurry is associated with the nutrients it contains, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, while the main greenhouse gases produced by the piggery industry are methane and nitrous oxide. Available technologies can valorize the slurry through agricultural fertilization, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by limiting nutrient availability for example, or treat the effluents using solid – liquid separation, flaring or biological processes. Specific attention is paid to biofiltration due to its potential to simultaneously treat these two types of pollution.
Municipal wastewater was treated in 4 biofilters packed with a mix of endemic tropical woodchips and natural fibers to evaluate the removal efficiency of organic matter and pathogen microorganisms under tropical conditions. Biofilters were operated during 400 days, with a hydraulic rate of 0.3 m3/m2.d and an aeration rate of 0.68 m3air/m2 h-1. Raw municipal wastewater presented higher concentrations, of organic matter and pathogens, than those reported for municipal wastewaters in temperate countries. However, pollutants were successfully removed: <98.5% of the organic matter as BOD5 < 99.99% of Faecal Coliforms (FC) and Total Colony Forming Units (TCFU), and < 96.93% Helminth eggs (HE) were removed remaining only very low concentrations in the treated effluent (≤2.5 mg DBO5/L; ≤ 240 FC/100 mL; ≤ 240 TCFU /100 mL and < 1.0 HE/5L). According with Mexican regulations (Nom 001-SEMARNAT, 1996) and with the EPA suggested guidelines for water reuse (U.S. EPA, 1992a) treated effluents with this quality can be safely reused for three main activities: Nonfood crop irrigation, landscape impoundments and for construction activities. The high removal efficiency of TCFU and FC may be related with a predatory activity of testate amoebas which were detected growing into the biofilters and, the most plausible hypothesis concerning HE removal is that they are retained by filtration over the organic materials.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.