Removal of COD and colour from young municipal landfill leachate by Fenton process

Landfill is a common solution for the final disposal of municipal solid waste in Turkey. In recent years, studies of landfill leachate treatment by Fenton process have indicated that these methods can effectively reduce concentrations of organic contaminants and colour. The aim of this study is to investigate the removal efficiencies of colour and organic matter as COD from young municipal landfill leachate and the effect of operating conditions such as initial pH and Fenton's reagent dosage. Leachate was collected from municipal sanitary landfill located in city of Konya, Turkey. The main characteristics of the leachate were: pH = 7.25, colour = 3510 ptCo, COD = 38200 mgL-1, BOD5 = 22000 mgL-1, ratio of BOD5/COD was 0.58 and alkalinity as CaCO3 = 10250 mgL-1. It is observed that presenting a high value of COD and BOD5 and the rate of BOD5/COD values indicate that the leachate can be defined as young. The treatment of the leachate by Fenton process was carried out in a batch reactor. Under the optimal operation conditions (initial pH = 3, 2000 mgL-1 Fe2+ and 5000 mgL-1 H2O2), 55.9% of the initial COD and 89.4% colour were removed.