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Advanced biological sequential treatment of mature landfill leachate using aerobic activated sludge SBR and fungal bioreactor

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Abstract

This study utilized Penicillium spp. to treat mature landfill leachate (MLL) in a continuous bioreactor and batch experimental tests under non-sterile conditions. MLL characteristics such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), soluble COD (sCOD), total carbon (TC), total organic carbon (TOC), and color removal efficiency were determined. The lignocellulosic enzymatic activity of laccase (Lac), lignin-peroxidase (LiP), and manganese-peroxidase (MnP) was also determined. The batch experimental test was carried out with raw and pretreated MLL containing the initial NH4+–N concentrations of 0, 105, 352, and 914 mg/L. A maximum COD reduction of 41% and maximum enzymatic activity of 193, 37, and 25 U/L for Lac, LiP and MnP was recorded for the MLL containing 352 mg/L NH4+–N. The continuous bioreactor exhibited maximum values of 52, 54, 60, 58, and 75 percentage of COD, sCOD, TC, TOC, and color removal efficiency with MLL containing 352 mg/L NH4+–N that was pretreated at HRT 120 h, while the maximum detected lignocellulosic enzymatic activities were 149, 27, and 16 U/L for Lac, LiP, and MnP, respectively. A total of 64% COD reduction was achieved from the raw MLL considering 12% COD and 100% NH4+–N reduction in the aerobic activated sludge sequencing batch reactor pretreatment process. The steady and higher removal efficiency of the bioreactor over the entire study period is promising for further exploration to enhance removal of refractory contaminants from the MLL.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BOD:

Biochemical oxygen demand

BRRMF:

Brady road resource management facility

Ca:

Calcium

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

CT:

Control

F:

Fungus

Fe:

Iron

h:

Hour

HRT:

Hydraulic retention time

K:

Potassium

L:

Liter

Lac:

Laccase

LiP:

Ligni-peroxidase

mg:

Milligram

Mg:

Magnesium

MLL:

Mature landfill leachate

MLTSS:

Mix liquor total suspended solids

MLVSS:

Mix liquor volatile suspended solid

mM:

Millimolar

Mn:

Manganese

MnP:

Manganese-peroxidase

N:

Nitrogen

Na:

Sodium

nm:

Nanometer

P:

Phosphorus

pCOD:

Particulate chemical oxygen demand

PUF:

Polyethylene foam

rpm:

Revolution per minute

SBR:

Sequencing batch reactor

sCOD:

Soluble chemical oxygen demand

SVI:

Sludge volume index

TC:

Total carbon

TN:

Total nitrogen

TOC:

Total organic carbon

U/L:

Unit per liter

v/v:

Volume / volume

VSS:

Volatile suspended solids

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the input of Dr. Munz and Dr. Spennati from University of Florence, Dr. Bardi from University of Pisz to develop the idea of fungal bioreactor.

Funding

The financial support was appropriated to the Graduate Enhancement of Tri-Council Stipends (GETS) and Create-H2O programs, University of Manitoba for this research from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 5V6, Canada

    Mofizul Islam, Qian Xu & Qiuyan Yuan

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  1. Mofizul Islam
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  2. Qian Xu
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Contributions

Mr. Mofizul Islam performed the overall entire experimental study including experimental design, reactors operation, samples collection and analysis, data interpretation, and manuscript writing. Mr. Qian Xu contributed to design and operating of the aerobic activated sludge bioreactor. Dr. Qiuyan Yuan supervised all aspects of the experimental study and contributed to improve the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qiuyan Yuan.

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Islam, M., Xu, Q. & Yuan, Q. Advanced biological sequential treatment of mature landfill leachate using aerobic activated sludge SBR and fungal bioreactor. J Environ Health Sci Engineer 18, 285–295 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-020-00466-z

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