REMEDIATION OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

LANDFILL LEACHATE BY USING SUBSURFACE

FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLAND WITH LOW
PERMEABLE REACTIVE MEDIA
Chayanid Witthayaphirom1, Chart Chiemchaisri2,
Wilai Chiemchaisri3and, Jiro Takemura4
1
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok,
Thailand, Tel. (662) 7970999 ext. 1003, e-mail: [email protected]
2
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok,
Thailand, Tel. (662) 7970999 ext. 1010, e-mail: [email protected]
3
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok,
Thailand, Tel. (662) 7970999 ext. 1015, e-mail: [email protected]
4
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology,
Tokyo, Japan, Tel. (813) 57342592, e-mail: [email protected]

Received Date: March 23, 2014

Abstract
This research was carried out to investigate the efficiencies of leachate treatment by using
subsurface flow constructed wetland (CW) with low permeable reactive media and guinea grass
(Panicum maximum TD 58). Pilot scale CW was examined at hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of
0.028 m/d and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10 d. Two different types of media in CW were
used i.e. system 1: clay and sand mixture at ratio of 40:60 (%w/w) and system 2: clay, iron sludge
and sand mixture at ratio of 30:10:60 (%w/w). The results showed that the performance of system 2
was better in terms of pollutant removal efficiencies. Average BOD, COD and TKN removals were
76.1, 68.5 and 73.5% respectively. Methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions during the
treatment of CW were 8.2-52.1, 69.1-601.8 and 0.04-0.99 mg/m2.d respectively. The use of CW
with reactive media in system 2 and vegetation resulted in lower GHG emissions. The results show
that CW with low permeable reactive media could be effectively used to remediate leachate from
the landfill site.

Keywords: Constructed wetland, Greenhouse gas, Iron sludge, Leachate, Panicum maximum
TD 58, Permeable reactive barrier

Introduction
Leachate is a highly concentrated wastewater including COD, BOD, SS, NH3, heavy
metals and other toxic substances generated as by-product from municipal solid waste
landfill. It poses a hazard threat to the environment in terms of air, surface water and
ground water pollution. In order to prevent environmental deterioration from discharging
this polluted wastewater, proper leachate treatment or pollution control system needs to be
provided. Conventional leachate treatment systems available in developing countries are
generally low-cost technologies such as stabilization pond, aerated lagoon or land
treatment. Nevertheless, those treatment technologies are usually employed only during the
operation stage of solid waste disposal site. After the site closure, most of the treatment
systems are not well operated or poorly maintained due to lack of post-closure operation
and maintenance cost. The control of leachate migration off the site after landfill closure is
not an easy task because of high variations of leachate quantity and characteristics with
time. Subsurface flow constructed wetland (CW) which utilizes coarse media with high

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permeability and vegetation has been proven to be an efficient treatment method for
landfill leachate treatment [1]. Its main treatment functions include biological treatment
using attached growth on the media and plant root and plant uptake of nutrients.
Meanwhile, the treatment technology using low permeable media like clay and sand
mixture has been also successfully applied for reducing groundwater pollution from solid
waste disposal site. It is also anticipated that vegetation could also enhance the
performance of CW by improving soil porosity and oxygen diffusion for the microbial
activities. In our previous investigations, vegetation has provided positive effect on
leachate treatment in soil-plant system while also helped reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)
emission during it treatment [2, 3]

Methodology
Two pilot-scale subsurface flow constructed wetland (CW) units of 1 m width, 2 m length
(having 1.5 m of media), and 1 m depth, as the schematic shown in Figure 1, were used.
The inlet and outlet zones of the experimental unit were filled with 30-60 mm gravel of
0.80 m depth. In between, CW made from clay: sand mixture at 40:60 (%w/w) was
provided in one unit (system 1) and clay: iron sludge: sand mixture at 30:10:60 (%w/w)
was provided in another unit (system 2). In this study, clay was obtained from local soil
and iron sludge (in the form of iron oxide) was brought from sludge storage pond of
existing advanced leachate treatment system using chemical coagulation and filtration
system at the same solid waste disposal site. The main purpose for introduction of
iron sludge in reactive media in system 2 was to investigate its effect in suppression of
methane production during the treatment [4]. The properties of media used in this study
are shown in Table 1. Two PVC pipes (1 inch diameter) were provided for sampling of
water (so called port 1 and port 2) at every 0.5 m distance under the plant root zone. The
CW media depth in both units was set equally at 0.8 m. Guinea grass (Panicum
maximum TD 58) which has been cultivated in our previous research [3] was used as
vegetation in both units with an initial plant density of 20 rhizomes/m2. Leachate
obtained from closed landfill cell at the solid waste disposal site where experimental units
were installed was fed into the system from a storage tank by gravity. A control valve
was used to adjust the feed flow rate to that hydraulic loading rate (HLR) to the
system was maintained at 0.028 m3/m2.d. The water depth in the experimental unit was
maintained at about 0.7 m. This was equivalent to hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10
d. This experimental condition was pre-determined to be sufficient for leachate purification
in our previous study [1].

Figure 1. Schematic of pilot-scale subsurface flow constructed wetland

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Table 1. Properties of Media
System 1 System 2
Parameter (unit)
(clay:sand) (clay:iron sludge:sand)
pH (-) 6.45 6.84
Porosity (%) 40.16 40.14
Salinity, NaCl (%) 0.27 0.49
Electrical conductivity (dS/m) 2.49 3.87
Bulk density (kg/m3) 1,620 1,540
Hydraulic conductivity, k (m/s) 2.93 x 10-6 5.72 x 10-6
Soil Texture Sandy loam Sandy loam
Sand (%) 65.36% 69.36%
Silt (%) 11.55% 5.22%
Clay (%) 23.09% 25.42%

The characteristics of leachate used in this study are shown in Table 2. The
performance of CW in leachate purification was monitored over 240 days by comparing
influent, treated water along the treatment pathway and effluent qualities on weekly basis.
Wastewater quality analyses included pH, electrical conductivity (EC), color, oxidation-
reduction potential (ORP), salinity (NaCl), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical
oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), suspended solids (SS), total dissolved
solids (TDS), ammonia (NH3 in mgN/l), total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrite (NO2- in
mgN/l), nitrate (NO3- in mgN/l), and total phosphorus (TP). The analyses of those
parameters were performed according to Standard Methods for the Examination of Water
and Wastewater [5]. Moreover, soil samples were collected as composite samples between
inlet, middle and outlet parts and characterized for pH, EC, organic matter, organic carbon,
moisture content, NH3-N, NO3-N, TKN and TP at the beginning and the end of
experiment. Water permeability of media was determined in the experiment unit before
and after experiment by using constant head method. The growth of plant was determined
in terms of shoot height, root length, number of leaves and total dry weight at the
beginning and the end of experiment.

Table 2. Characteristics of Leachate

Parameter (unit) Range Average
pH (-) 7.53-8.79 8.33
EC (dS/m) 11.5-25.9 19.2
Color (Pt-Co unit) 437.5-1,250 911.1
NaCl (%) 0.19-0.50 0.35
ORP (mV) (-396)-(-212) -265
TSS (mg/l) 230-810 575
TDS (mg/l) 8,140-13,520 10,610
BOD (mg/l) 704-1,434 922
COD (mg/l) 2,200-3,145 2,694
TOC (mg/l) 712-1,279 993
NH3-N (mg/l) 56.7-178.7 101.8
TKN (mg/l) 112-296 190.5
NO2-N (mg/l) 0.1-1.3 0.4
NO3-N (mg/l) 0.2-3.5 1.2
TP (mg/l) 4.8-11.6 5.2

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 During the treatment, GHG emission was also evaluated using close flux chamber
technique on monthly basis. The details of flux measurement methodology can be found
elsewhere [6]. The determination of gas emission was conducted over bare soil and soil
with plant at a distance of 0.25, 0.75 and 1.25 m length so called inlet, middle and outlet
point of soil media respectively for comparison to investigate the effect of plant on
reducing GHG emission. Methane and carbon dioxide were analyzed by Shimadzu GC-
14B whereas nitrous oxide was analyzed by Shimadzu GC-Clarus 580 respectively. The
gas flux was determined from their concentration increase in the chamber as described in
the following equation.
F = (V/A)*(ΔC/Δt)*(298)/(273+T) (1)
Where F is the gas flux (mg/m2.d) at 25ºC, V is the chamber volume (m3), A is the area
enclosed by the chamber (m2), ΔC/Δt is the gas concentration gradient (mg/m3.d) and T is
temperature of the air within chamber (ºC)

Results and Discussion

Treatment Performance of the CW System
Table 3 shows average effluent qualities from the pilot-scale CW over 240 days during
which total rainfall of 175 mm and average temperature of 37oC was recorded. The volume
of fed leachate to each experimental unit was 42 l/d yielding average organic loading of
0.09 kgBOD/m3.d and 0.27 kgCOD/m3.d to the system respectively. After treatment, the
effluent flow from system 1 and system 2 had average flow of 31 and 24 l/d respectively.
The leachate volume was mainly reduced by evapotranspiration in the system. In terms of
treatment performance, moderate organic and nutrient (N, P) removals of about 50-80%
were achieved in CW system. It was found that the removal rates of pollutants were
different between the experimental units using different media. For most of pollutants
except color, the removals were higher in the experimental unit in which iron sludge were
added into clay: sand mixture. On average, BOD, COD and TKN removals were 76.1%,
68.5% and 73.5% respectively meanwhile those of clay: sand mixture alone were 69.5%,
63.3% and 66.9%. Moderate dissolved solids removals in terms of EC (48.4%) and salinity
(54.1%) were also observed in CW system suggesting the removal of salts through
precipitation either in media or plant root zone. In aerated peat bio-filter treating leachate,
BOD, COD and NH3 removals of 80%, 90% and 86% were reported at HRT of 5 days [7].
The enhanced treatment in iron sludge amended media can be caused by physical,
chemical and biological mechanisms being promoted by sludge addition. This was
evidenced in terms of higher SS removals (Table 3) and accumulation of organic carbon
(Table 4) for system 2. The enhancement of biological activities was further described in
terms of greenhouse gas emission. Moreover, vegetation could also help improving organic
and TKN removal possibly through enhancement of oxygen transfer into the soil by plant
root system which subsequently promoted aerobic biodegradation by soil microorganisms.
The results of chemical analyses of media before and after the experiment is shown in
Table 4. It was found that carbon and nitrogen were partially accumulated in the media
resulting in an increase in organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in both systems. It
is anticipated that organic matter are first adsorbed onto the soil and then subsequently
biodegraded by microorganisms. In comparison, system 2 had lower initial organic carbon
and higher nitrogen content than system 1 due to the presence of iron sludge. After the
experiment, the accumulations of pollutants in system 2 matrix were found higher than
system 1 in term of organic carbon whereas nitrogen accumulation in both systems were
not much different. Significant increase in salt content in media was also observed possibly

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resulting from the salt crystallization in the media when part of water was evaporated
during the treatment. Moreover plants can uptake nutrients mainly nitrogen for their
growth. Accumulation of pollutants and microbial in the media led to a decrease in their
hydraulic permeability.

Table 3. Effluent Characteristics and Steady State Removal Efficiencies

System 2 (clay: iron

System 1 (clay: sand) % %
sludge:sand)
Parameter Removal Removal
Port System1 System2
Port 2 Eff. Port 1 Port 2 Eff.
1
pH 7.86 7.76 7.71a 8.22 8.07 7.79a - -
EC (dS/m) 13.8 11.5 10.9a 13.1 10.9 9.9a 43.3 48.4
Color (unit) 572 407 282a 622 467 349a 70.1 61.5
NaCl (%) 0.26 0.21 0.18a 0.24 0.20 0.16a 48.3 54.1
ORP (mV) -231 -205 -159b -230 -184 -155b - -
BOD (mg/l) 577 399 281a 544 342 221a 69.5 76.1
COD (mg/l) 1,824 1,331 989a 1,630 1,196 849a 63.3 68.5
TOC (mg/l) - - 561a - - 490a 43.4 50.4
SS (mg/l) - - 150a - - 114a 73.9 80.2
TDS (mg/l) - - 5,475a - - 4,887a 48.4 53.9
NH3-N (mg/l) 55 52 31b 50 45 28b 69.5 73.4
TKN (mg/l) 147 112 63a 134 92 51a 66.9 73.5
NO2-N(mg/l) 0.2 0.15 0.05b 0.2 0.16 0.04b 76.2 80
NO3-N(mg/l) 0.9 0.5 0.24b 0.86 0.66 0.21b 78.8 84
TP (mg/l) 3.30 3.03 1.44b 3.51 3.17 1.36b 71.7 74.4
Note: a= difference between system 1 and system 2 with statistical significance (p<0.05) and
b = no difference between system 1 and system 2 with statistical significance (p˃0.05)

Table 4. Characteristics of Media before and after the Experiment

Before After
Parameter
System 1 System 2 System 1 System 2
pH (-) 6.45 6.84 6.5 7.1
NaCl (%) 0.27 0.24 0.49 0.78
EC (dS/m) 2.49 3.87 13.9 11.8
TN (mg/kg) 188.31 417.17 903.32 1,166.62
TOC (g/kg) 13.64 11.96 15.36 14.54
Permeability, k (m/s) 2.93x10-6 5.72x10-6 2.26x10-7 1.73x10-7

Growth of Plant in the CW System

During the operation of CW system, the growth of plant (Panicum maximum TD 58) was
also studied. It was found that the growth of plant in system 2 was better than system 1 as
shown in terms of plant height, root length, numbers of leaves and plant dry weight (Table
5). From these results, it can be concluded that the provision of iron sludge in CW media
did not have negative impact on plant growth but on the other hand slightly promoted plant
growth. The promotion of plant growth could be due to an improvement on physical
properties of media for plant growth or the addition of ferric iron can also help in
promoting photosynthesis mechanism of plant chlorophyll. Higher growth of plant in

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system 2 also promoted water removal through evapotranspiration resulting in lower
effluent volume obtained from system 2 compared to system 1.

Table 5. Growth of Panicum Maximum TD 58 during the Experiment

Parameter Before After
System 1 System 2
Height (m) 0.15 1.01 1.38
Root (m) 0.12 0.21 0.34
No. of leaves 0 55 84
Dry weight (g) 33 2,441 3,254

Greenhouse Gas Emission from the CW System

Table 6 compares average methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emission rates from
soil and soil-plant in CW with different media. Methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide
emissions during the treatment of CW were 8.0-52.6, 69.1-570.2 and 0.04-0.69 mg/m2.d
respectively. Among them, carbon dioxide emission was highest followed by methane and
nitrous oxide. For all gases, the emission rates from bare soil were higher than soil-plant
location indicating that the plant helped reducing greenhouse gas emission possibly due to
beneficial effect from oxygen transfer into their root system. The emission was also found
highest near the inlet part and gradually decreased along the treatment pathway (Table 7).
Comparing between both systems, system 2 had lower emission rates than system 1 for all
gases. These results suggested that an introduction of iron sludge into the media helped
mitigating greenhouse gas emission during the treatment. This is an expected mechanism
as ferric ion amended sludge media could promote the activity of Fe3+ reducing bacteria,
resulting in a switch in electron flow from methanogenesis to Fe3+ reduction [8].
Furthermore, plant–microbe interactions could lead to an efficient iron oxidation and
reduction reaction in an oxidized rhizosphere environment [9, 10].

Table 6. Emission Rates (mg/m2.d) of Greenhouse Gas from the CW System

System Location Methane Carbon Dioxide Nitrous Oxide
Range Avg. Range Avg. Range Avg.
bare soil 16.3-52.6 31.2 215.7-570.2 380.7 0.21-0.69 0.42
1
soil-plant 14.2-46.8 26.6 155.0-536.0 316.1 0.14-0.53 0.31
bare soil 11.3-41.7 22.6 112.5-508.9 293.6 0.07-0.43 0.21
2
soil-plant 8.0-37.0 17.8 69.1-373.3 259.6 0.04-0.41 0.19

Table 7. Emission Rates (mg/m2.d) of Greenhouse Gases along the Treatment

Pathway
Soil w/o Plant Soil with Plant
System Gas
Inlet Middle outlet inlet middle outlet
CH4 40.1 30.0 23.3 35.7 26.5 18.0
1 CO2 483.8 376.5 281.8 432.0 317.8 198.6
N2O 0.52 0.41 0.32 0.41 0.31 0.21
CH4 32.5 20.6 14.6 27.3 16.3 10.0
2
CO2 401.8 292.0 187.0 366.1 275.4 137.4
N2O 0.29 0.22 0.11 0.27 0.20 0.10

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Conclusions
Subsurface flow constructed wetland (CW) with low permeable media was successfully
applied to remediate leachate from closed landfill site. Moderate removals of organic and
nutrients was obtained during which highest removals of BOD, COD and TKN were
76.1%, 68.5% and 73.5%. The introduction of iron sludge into CW media slightly
improved the treatment performance of CW while promoting plant growth. It also helped
reducing greenhouse gas emission during the treatment. The growth of Guinea grass
(Panicum maximum TD 58) in CW system could be sustained in long term operation and it
provided positive effect to the treatment and reducing greenhouse gas emission.

Acknowledgements
This research work was supported by Asian Core Program funded by JSPS, NRCT, and
ERDT.

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