This proposal is in response to item 13 of the FCSHWM request for proposals asking for research that examines the long-term treatment and disposal options for landfill leachate. Mature landfill leachates will require a complex sequence of biological, physical, and chemical treatment processes to reach discharge limits. It is likely that ammonia-nitrogen, humics, and xenobiotic compounds in thes...

Ammonia can be removed from landfill leachate through aerobic biological processes. The biological aerated filter (BAF) combines biological treatment and subsequent biomass separation in one reactor providing a small footprint alternative to conventional systems. Leachate from an operational landfill was found to be aerobically treatable using the OECD recommended Modified Zahn-Wellens test. Th...

Landfills are the final repository for most of the discarded material from human society and its "built environments." Microorganisms subsequently degrade this discarded material in the landfill, releasing gases (largely CH4 and CO2) and a complex mixture of soluble chemical compounds in leachate. Characterization of "landfill microbiomes" and their comparison across several landfills should al...

Hazardous household wastes comprise a significant proportion of municipal solid waste (MSW), and therefore serve as the source of many toxic or carcinogenic organic chemicals that are released in the environment through landfill gases or leachates. In the present study, we demonstrate the utility of the steam classification process in removing hazardous semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) an...