Investigation of The Fate Of MSW Leachate In Different Soil Types Using Soil Column Method

Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate the fate of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) leachate using the soil columns method. Leachate was extracted in the laboratory and fed to three different soil columns. One of the columns was packed by sandy soil. The second was packed by sandy clay loam soil, the depth of the soil in each was 60 cm. The third column was packed by layered soil, the depth of each layer was 30 cm. Samples of the percolated leachate were collected and investigated for several physical and chemical characteristics as a function of time, including COD and BOD. The results showed that, an obvious decreasing in the characteristics of the leachate occurred with the three columns as a function of time. The characteristics decreased with decreasing of Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) up to a certain time then it started to increase. The adsorption capacity of the soil could play a great role in the changes that occurred in the characteristics of the leachate in the different soil types. The results demonstrated that the soil could play a role in delaying the arrival of the pollutants to groundwater.

Keywords: MSW leachate, soil columns, adsorption capacity, groundwater quality