Composition of Leachate

Abstract

Solid waste is an important environmental problem in both developing and developed countries. Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is one of the main modern environmental issues in municipal areas because of both its huge amount and variety of constituents. Information on characteristics of MSW is important for the formulation of new waste management policy. Landfill leachate is defined as an aqueous effluent produced when water percolates through the waste in a landfill. The nature of landfill leachate depends on the type of MSW being dumped, landfill age, moisture content, seasonal weather variations, site hydrology, the stage of decomposition in the landfill and pH. Produced leachate could contain large amounts of contaminants measured as COD, BOD5, NH3–N, heavy metals, phenols, phosphorus etc. Obviously, as landfill age increases, the biodegradable fraction of organic pollutants in leachate decrease as an outcome of the anaerobic decomposition occurring in landfill site. Thus, mature or stabilized leachate contains much more refractory organics than young leachate.