An alternative type of photoelectro-Fenton process for the treatment of landfill leachate

An alternative type of photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) process has been proposed to remove COD, color and phosphate from the landfill leachates. The process was improved by combining the different type of electro-Fenton (EF) process with UV irradiation. The efficiency of the process and settling characteristics of waste sludge produced from the process were investigated by changing some operating parameters such as initial pH, H2O2 and current. In addition, the proposed process was compared with other treatment processes such as electro-coagulation (EC), electro-Fenton and UV/H2O2 in terms of treatment efficiency. The high removal efficiencies were observed at the initial pH 3, initial H2O2, concentration, 3000 mg L-1; current, 2.5 A; and treatment time, 20 min. Removal of COD, color and phosphate under the reported conditions were 94%, 97%, 96%, respectively. The obtained results from the comparative experiments revealed that the proposed PEF process is more effective than the other treatment processes for the landfill leachate. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights deserved.