Treatment of Diethyl Phthalate from Municipal Solidwaste Open Dumpsite Through Ozone-Based Advanced Oxidation Process

A high content of organic matter especially the refractory organic matter, ammonia, heavy metals and toxic compounds in the leachate from open municipal solid waste dumping makes the treatment of leachate from open dumps more complex. Leachate generation is a major problem for solid waste landfills and causes significant impact on surface water, groundwater and soil. Leachate sample was collected from open dumpsite for Chennai city during the pre-monsoon period. Due to its non-segregation in nature, it has non-homogeneous chemical composition as well as concentration it is essential to treat the leachate before letting out into drains which ultimately reaches the water bodies. In this paper, synthetic leachate was prepared in accordance with the characteristics of the dumpsite leachate and removal of Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) through Ozone-Based Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) was investigated and reported. AOP plays a significant role in leachate treatment techniques due to its capability of rapid breakdown of DEP which are resistant to conventional biological or Physico-chemical treatment. Semi-batch studies with O_3,O₃ + H₂O₂ were demonstrated and the control parameters are optimized for the leachate treatment. O_3,O₃ + H₂O₂ process was performed in the natural pH range and initial experiments were carried out with semi-batch ozone only. The addition of different concentrations of H₂O₂ leads to increase in pollutant removal and the results are discussed. Various influencing parameters that govern the efficiency of AOP are evaluated and reported. The influence of pH, COD, heavy metals, UVA and intermediate products on the performance of AOP was also studied and efficiency of the process was determined. It is found that Peroxone-based AOP process is an efficient and viable treatment technique for the treatment of leachate from open dumping site of municipal solid waste.