Pollutant removal from leachate by electrochemical treatment: A case study for sanitary Landfill Balikesir

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison of alternative sacrificial electrodes for the electrocoagulation (EC) process that can be applied in the treating of leachate of Balikesir Landfill. The purification performance of the process was determined by monitoring COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) values remaining in solution as a result of electrocoagulation process of leachate containing many different pollutants in a full hatch reactor. Test samples were collected from municipal solid waste landfill in Balikesir. Three values for current density (CD 196, 392 and 588 A/m(2)), three electrode materials (aluminum, iron and zinc) and treatment time were taken into consideration in the scope of this study. Optimum current density was 196 A/m(2) and the most suitable electrode material was aluminum (53% COD removal efficiency). Besides, cost analysis of the process was assesed according to energy consumption. Experimental findings implied that electrooagulation process could also be applied employing alternative electrode materials like zinc and iron even though the most economical electrode type was aluminum. Considering all results, it was concluded that the electrocoagulation process is highly applicable to treat the leachate originated from Balikesir landfill.