Abstract
Leachate from municipal landfills represents a potential health risk to both surrounding ecosystems and human populations. Landfill leachate collected from a site in New Jersey was evaluated for its anaerobic biodegradability and toxicity to methanogenesis using two anaerobic bioassays. Chemical characterization of the leachate yielded the following results (mg/L): chemical oxygen demand (COD)=6478; dissolved oxygen (DO)=1.8–2.0; oil and grease=4.8; suspended solids=5.6; total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)=215; total phosphorus=1.53; biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)=73 and pH=7.0–7.4. Anaerobic biodegradation of leachate as the sole source of carbon yielded methane production values greater than background over extended incubation periods with increasing concentration. However, increased concentrations of leachate produced a decrease in recovery of methane per kg COD amended. In a second assay, leachate toxicity was assessed by monitoring the suppression of methanogenesis in acetate and propionate amended cultures. Results of these assays indicate that concentrations of leachate greater than 10% produced a significant irreversible suppression of methanogenesis, while concentrations less than 10% showed enhanced methane production above background and active control. These results suggest that the leachate from this site contains a biodegradable fraction which can be partially mineralized under methanogenic conditions over extended periods of incubation. However, high concentrations in excess of 10% may be inhibitory to anaerobic methanogenic processes.
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O'Connor, O.A., Dewan, R., Galuzzi, P. et al. Landfill leachate: A study of its anaerobic mineralization and toxicity to methanogenesis. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 19, 143–147 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059823
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059823