“Leachate treatment in constructed wetlands that it is often worthwhile to consider the use of them at landfill sites, however, for full strength sanitry landfills initial leachate concentration is usually too high to use them unless a primary stage of biological aeration treatment is applied first”
There are many methods worth looking at looking for landfill leachate treatment projects and landfill leachate treatment systems designers have got a lot to pick from. To assess whether leachate treatment in constructed wetlands would be suitable for your landfill leachate treatment. It isn't an infrequent question asked. There is certainly great news for many who decide on this method. It is really not very difficult to work out whether wetland treatment will work for your landfill, once you know how.
This article will make it less difficult for any person with this objective to be successful and to truly assess whether leachate treatment in constructed wetlands would be suitable for your landfill leachate treatment. If you wish to learn how to assess whether leachate treatment in constructed wetlands would be suitable for your landfill leachate treatment in only 3 simple steps, please read on…
The 1st step is to obtain a full laboratory water quality analysis report for your landfill site leachate. The list will vary according to the requirements of the local environmental protection regulator, but should include BOD, COD, S/S, pH, Ammoniacal Nitrogen (usually expressed as N), and a range of heavy metals analysed according to which may be analysed. Fe would be included for high Fe leachates etc. In some cases a trace compound analysis would be included for herbicides pesticides and other dangerous substances which may be present in the leachate.
You need to do that considering that unless the leachate quality is known no case can be made for the acceptability of low cost constructed wetland treatment, and the local environmental regulator would be likely to reject any application for leachate treatment in constructed wetlands as a result. Simultaneously, you'll want to keep away from any suggestion that this method is not very scientifically based, and ensure at all time that, for site which are in Europe, or where EU Directives and waste regulations apply there is any leakage of the leachate into underlying strata, which would be contrary to the EU Groundwater Directive and local environmental regulations, which require all groundwater to be considered a resource whether or not currently used for drinking water abstraction.
Neglecting to get this step performed correctly and well would mean that your plans to use leachate treatment in constructed wetlands as a low cost and highly sustainable method of treating and disposing of a landfill site's leachate, fail.
The 2nd step is to carry out the next site in the design of a leachate treatment in constructed wetlands, and apply the permissible application contaminant load rates in terms of all the rate limiting parameters for the type of constructed wetland and species proposed using loading rates provided by leachate treatment experts. Here you will want to avoid over loading the natural capability wetland to take up the contaminants in the leachate, which in time would cause a build up of pollution and leave a legacy of contaminated land for future generations to clean up and likewise the local environmental regulator's job will be to assess the design loadings and only permit scientifically demonstrably sustainable constructed wetland projects to go ahead.
The 3rd step is to complete the wetland design in outline using the wetland area calculated to be necessary at the loading and predicted leachate flow, identify the necessary flat land area, and decide how any loss of leachate into underlying strata can be avoided prior to the treated leachate effuent being discharged (usually at a single discrete “discharge permit” location where it will be monitored for flow rate and water quality) into the environment.
Be sure that enough land is available and a suitable discharge point. The land areas needed are large, and if raw leachate concentrations are consistent with most sanitary landfills the ammonia (ammoniacal nitrogen) present will be much too high to make a wetland treatment option viable without pre-treatment by biological nitrification.
Nevertheless, expert design of a biological nitrication SBR leachate treatment plant as the primary treatment method, combined with wetland treatment may be a very cost effective solution for leachate treatment at many sanitary landfill sites. It is a method which has often been used especially in the United Kingdom and continues to be so.
This can be important for the reason that not only will it be necessary for any leachate treatment in constructed wetlands to be reliably treating all the leachate it receives at all times, but it must be monitored and shown to the environmental regulator and any member of the public that the landfill is being operated in a manner which protects the surrounding environment.
Be sure you steer clear of the mistake of selecting leachate treatment in constructed wetlands just because it is cheap solution which will allow the landfill operator to forget the leachate once it is pumped into the constructed wetlands.
Adhere to the above 3 steps carefully. In doing so you can expect to, most likely, be able to assess whether leachate treatment in constructed wetlands would be suitable for your landfill leachate treatment without difficulties. Just follow the steps, doing what you should do at the same time circumventing the problems pointed out. The benefits and fruits from your effective endeavors to assess whether leachate treatment in constructed wetlands would be suitable for your landfill leachate treatment, will then be yours to enjoy!
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