Treatment of landfill leachate by using electron beam technology

Abstract

The raw liquid and the bio-treatment（MBR） effluent of landfill leachate were irradiated using electron beam（EB） technology. The effect of EB irradiation on the molecular weight，organic composition of pollutants in the landfill leachate，as well as the improvement of biodegradability were investigated. Results showed that EB irradiation coupled with the coagulation process achieved a good COD removal of landfill leachate. Furthermore，the macromolecular organic pollutants（molecular weight >100 ku） in the leachate solution could be destroyed while some small molecular weight organics（molecular weight，0.5-1 ku） would be polymerized during the EB irradiation. Additionally，EB irradiation could effectively remove macromolecular humus in the bio-treatment effluent of the leachate and transform them to small molecular weight organic compounds which would enhance the biodegradability of the landfill leachate.

Keywords

• electron beam
• irradiation
• landfill leachate
• biodegradability