Assessment of Sewage Sludge and Coir Pith as Alternative Cover Materials to Red Soil in Bioreactor Landfills

Abstract

This study assessed the performance of sewage sludge and coir pith as a potential alternative to virgin red soil as cover material in bioreactor landfills. Three field scale models of anaerobic bioreactor landfills were set up so as to study the performance of the cover materials on leachate generation time, quality and quantity. In one reactor (R1), red soil was used as the cover and was kept as control. In the other two reactors (R2 and R3), modified sewage sludge and coir pith were used as the cover materials, respectively. The leachate produced from each were analyzed based on its quality (Total Solids, pH, BOD, COD, Nitrate and Iron), quantity and generation time. Red soil provided respectively 41.08% and 25.5% reduction in BOD than modified sewage sludge and coir pith. However, coir pith showed better performance in reduction of leachate quantity, total solids, nitrate and iron, thus making it suitable for use as an alternate cover material.