Increasing of leachate quality using an integrated aerobic membrane bioreactor

The aim of this study was the increasing of leachate quality using integrated membrane bioreactor (MBR). The reactor was fed with treated leachate with overall 70-1360 mg/l chemical oxygen demand (COD). The analysis of COD, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), and total dissolved solids (TDS) were performed in feed and filtrate, whenever the system reached steady state twice a week for 6 months. In all loading rate, BOD5 concentration was less than the standard limit. The removal efficiency of COD in all experiments was up to 80%. Up to 99% of solids, which may mainly include colloidal solids, were removed with micropore membrane. There was no significant difference between TDS concentration in feed and filtrate. It was concluded that MBR is a versatile technology with high throughput and can treat compost leachate below standard limit if used after appropriate processes.