Simultaneous Concentration and Treatment of Landfill Leachate by Hybrid Osmotically Driven Membrane Processes

Municipal landfill leachate has been one of the major environmental problems because of its high content of organics, inorganics, and heavy metals [1]. Therefore, before discharge to the environment, landfill leachate must be treated and different technologies can be employed. Common treatment technologies include biological and physio-chemical process; however, with the continuous tightening of discharge limits and standards and the ageing of landfill sites with more and more stabilized leachates, conventional treatments are often not sufficient to reach the level of treatment needed. The proposed research will examine emerging membrane-based technologies with the potential to improve treatment efficiency and minimize concentrate disposal issues. A novel integrated membrane system that utilizes a forward osmosis (FO) membrane and a membrane distillation (MD) membrane in a re-concentration process will be investigated and optimized for developing a highly efficient landfill leachate treatment and concentration system. In satisfying the stated objectives, the following objectives of EREF’s TRP will be addressed:

1. Development of a system that aims to minimize cost, yet is operationally reliable and environmentally compliant
2. Compare the system to analysis of existing and innovative treatment technologies
3. Evaluate the system’s capability of improving the use of evaporative systems for leachate management.

Publications
Final Report