Use of a UV/H2O2 process for posttreatment of a biologically treated composting leachate

This research was conducted to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of a UV/H2O2 process as a post- treatment step for complete treatment of a biologically treated composting leachate. This study was an experimental study and was conducted during April to September 2013. Leachate samples from the effluent of a multistep biological treatment system were used for further treatment by the UV/H2O2 process. The effectiveness of the pH values (2{10), H2O2 concentrations (0.5{4 g/L), and reaction times (15{75 min) were evaluated to determine optimum operational conditions. The highest removal efficiencies were 90%, 92%, 90%, and 88% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), bio- chemical oxygen demand5 (BOD5) , total organic carbon (TOC), and total suspended solids (TSS) respectively, at the optimum operation conditions (pH 4, 3 g/L H2O2 concentration, and 75 min reaction time). The UV/H2O2 was found to oxidize preferably COD and BOD5 of the leachate samples and, as a consequence, a decrease in the organic loads of the leachate was observed after oxidation treatment. The UV/H2O2 process proved to be a feasible posttreatment method for a biologically treated composting leachate and effectively reduced the organic loads.