Abstract
Leachate from a waste tip in the acidification stage contains a lot of volatile fatty acids. Soil column experiments showed that the removal of these acids in soil by CH4-fermentation can be quite effective, especially in soils with a high buffering capacity. In sandy loam soil columns, where the retention time was only 17 days, the fatty acids were removed completely, even at a high concentration level of 6500 mg l−1 acetic acid equivalents. In sandy soils with a low buffering capacity the CH4-fermentation was already limited at rather low acid concentrations.
The lag in the start of CH4-fermentation became longer at higher acid concentrations. At a level of 25 000 mg l−1 acetic acid equivalents CH4 -fermentation did not start within the test period of 10 months. The lowering of pH was probably the main reason for this phenomenon.
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Hoeks, J., Borst, R.J. Anaerobic digestion of free volatile fatty acids in soils below waste tips. Water Air Soil Pollut 17, 165–173 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283299
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283299