Membrane bioreactor co-treatment of municipal landfill leachates and synthetic sewage

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the co-treatment of municipal landfill leachates and synthetic sewage in a membrane bioreactor. The study determined the dependence of the degree of decontamination on the activated sludge load and the associated aeration chambers load. The share amount of leachate in the treated mixture was 5% (by volume). The concentration of the activated sludge in the membrane bioreactor varied from 3.5 to 4.0 g/dm(3); the oxygen concentration was kept constant at 4.0 g O(2)/dm(3). The activated sludge load was varied, in a range from 0.05 to 0.8 g COD/g(DM)d. The system worked as a sequential bioreactor in 12-hour cycle. The effectiveness of the process was estimated from the change in values of these parameters: COD, BOD(5), TOC, N(tot), N-NO(3)(-), N-NH(4)(+) and P(tot). The treated effluent from the membrane bioreactor was additionally cleaned by a reverse osmosis process.