Abstract
Landfill leachates are often discharged through sewers or by trucks to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) after on-site biological treatment. This discharge of landfill leachate is widely accepted because of its cost-effectiveness and reliability, but potential impacts of this practice include additional nutrient loading and interference with ultraviolet (UV) disinfection during subsequent biological treatment. Leachate was fractionated into humic acid (HA), fulvic acid (FA), and hydrophilic (Hpi) fractions based on chemical composition and solubility to determine the hydrophobicity distribution. The analysis showed that the specific absorbance () of the humic substances (HA and FA) was significantly higher than the Hpi fraction. The UV quenching materials were found to be resistant to biological treatment for the majority of leachates studied. Removal of humic substances was associated with decreased UV quenching and the aromatic content of landfill leachates after biological treatment. The size distribution of the hydrophilic fraction suggests that the majority of organic nitrogen in landfill leachate is associated with the low-molecular-weight () hydrophilic fraction.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the funding support of Waste Management Inc., and the technical support of Mr. Gary R. Hater and Mr. Aaron Maurer of Waste Management, Inc.
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© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 9, 2014
Accepted: Aug 20, 2014
Published online: Sep 26, 2014
Discussion open until: Feb 26, 2015
Published in print: Apr 1, 2015
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Acids
- Benefit cost ratios
- Biological processes
- Business management
- Chemical compounds
- Chemical processes
- Chemicals
- Chemistry
- Environmental engineering
- Financial management
- Highway transportation
- Infrastructure
- Landfills
- Leachates
- Lifeline systems
- Practice and Profession
- Radiation
- Sewers
- Transportation engineering
- Trucks
- Ultraviolet radiation
- Vehicles
- Waste management
- Waste sites
- Waste treatment
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