Perspectives on Biological Treatment of Sanitary Landfill Leachate

Abstract

Landfilling, one of the prevailing worldwide waste management strategies, is presented together with its benefits and environmental risks. Aside from biogas, another non-avoidable product of landfilling is landfill leachate, which usually contains a variety of potentially hazardous inorganic and organic compounds. It can be treated by different physico-chemical and biological methods and their combinations. The composition and characteristics of landfill leachate are presented from the aspect of biotreatability. The treatment with activated sludge, mainly consisting of bacterial cultures under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in various reactor systems, is explained, including an extensive literature review. The potential of fungi and their extracellular enzymes for treatment of municipal landfill leachates is also presented, with a detailed review of the landfill leachate treatment studies. The future perspectives of biological treatment are also discussed.