Dosage and pH optimization on stabilized landfill leachate via coagulation-flocculation process

Treatment on the generated landfill leachate is crucial as it can cause serious toxicological effects and environmental hazards, particularly when the unfavorable contaminants are left accumulated for a long period of time. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimum coagulant dosage of polyaluminium chloride (PAC) in selected dosage ranges (2250-4500 mg/L) and to analyse the ideal pH of leachate sample (pH 3-10). PAC was tested on stabilized leachate taken from Simpang Renggam Landfill Site (SRLS), by investigating the percentage removals of five significant parameters, which were suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia, and heavy metals (iron (Fe) and chromium (Cr)). The removal efficiency was determined by a series of experiments using jar test. From the obtained results, it was found that 3750 mg/L and pH 7 were the optimum conditions for PAC dosage and sample pH, respectively. The conventional optimization test showed satisfactory results for suspended solids, COD, Fe, and Cr at 95%, 53%, 97%, and 79% respectively, but had low removal on ammonia at 18%. It can be concluded that the coagulation-flocculation process has the potential to be applied as a primary treatment for stabilized landfill leachate in Malaysia.