Application of thermal plasma for inertization of sludge produced during treatment of landfill leachate

Abstract

One of the outstanding issues of concern by governments and society in general relates to the final destination of solid waste, which can bring severe impacts on social, political, economic and environmental dimensions. The sustainable development of enterprises and industries goes for the care of the planet, thus ensuring the quality of life for future generations and the planet. The disposal of municipal waste in landfills is the technique most commonly employed for the remediation of solid residues. The residues undergo decomposition beneath the soil and in the presence of water this generates leachate, which percolates down to the bottom of the landfill through drainage. This drained liquid is collected from the landfill installations and subjected to treatment, which involves physico-chemical and biological processes. Landfill leachate commonly contains heavy metals due to the incorrect disposal of products such as fluorescent bulbs and batteries. In this context, a method for the treatment of sludge originating from the physicochemical remediation of leachate using thermal plasma is proposed in this paper. The efficiency of the method was verified by monitoring the total organic carbon content, water content and density of the sludge. The quantity of metals present in the samples was determined before and after pyrolysis by thermal plasma using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry techniques. The results show that the leachate treatment method used was efficient, presenting the best results for the samples of iron and zinc.

Degradation of contaminants in plasma technology: An overview

“…In an atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma reactor, higher microwave power with proper control of gas flow rate gives the high energy excitation that is responsible for generating reactive species ( Leins et al, 2015 ). For creating vitrification, degrading pollutants and generating syngas via thermal plasma or atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma reactor, the addition of flux agents is suggested ( Lin et al, 2014 , Cubas et al, 2015 , Cubas et al, 2016 ; Sanito et al, 2020a , Sanito et al, 2020b ). Thereby, the different plasma system has different critical parameters for different application.…”

“… 2 Thermal Plasma Carrier gas, pyrolysis time, gas flow rate, position of torch Anode, tungsten inert gas, cathode (graphite), plasma torch. Galvanic sludge, moist paste batteries Cubas et al, 2015 , Cubas et al, 2016 3 Atmospheric-Pressure plasma bubble AC Frequency, discharge peak voltage, gas flow rate, plasma treatment time Plasma power supply (Plasma leap technology), bubble column reactor, inner quartz tube, high-voltage stainless-steel electrode rod, outer dielectric tube, digital oscilloscope, air compressor, dielectric tubes. Antibiotics and dyes from aqueous solution Zhang et al (2021) , Zhou et al (2021a) 4 Rotating gliding arc discharge reactor Gas flow rate and applied voltage.…”

“…Some studies have been performed that plasma technology shows a promising result in the elimination of metals and metalloids using thermal plasma ( Cubas et al, 2014 , Cubas et al, 2015 , Cubas et al, 2016 ) and atmospheric-pressure microwave plasma reactor ( Sanito et al, 2020a , Sanito et al, 2020c , Sanito et al, 2021a ). Moist paste batteries, galvanic sludge, leachate and epoxy resin, have been treated through a plasma system for eliminating Cr, Fe, Mn, and Zn with flux agents (quartz sand and shell powder) addition.…”

Thermal Plasma Treatment of Medical Waste

“…However, high temperature also means more heavy metals will volatilize to the gas phase. A number of studies have reported the volatilization of heavy metals in plasma treatment of various waste streams [ 40 , 108 – 110 ]. Although the percentage of metals in medical waste may be lower, it can not be neglected.…”

Characterization of leachate produced by a landfill and its influence on a sewage treatment plant

“…The generation and management of solid wastes and their by‐products represent a major challenge faced by public managers, and this issue of waste disposal is one of the leading public health and environmental concerns related to urban activities (Guerrero, Maas, & Hogland, 2013; Mali & Patil, 2016; Nascimento, Sobral, Andrade, & Ometto, 2015). In developing countries, landfills are known to minimize adverse impacts on the environment and public health and are both economically and technically feasible (Cubas et al., 2016; Payandeh, Mehrdadi, & Dadgar, 2017).…”