Design a Scalable Electrocatalytic System to Enable a Sustainable Treatment of Aging Landfill Leachate

The quantity of refractory organics (ROs) in leachate grows as the landfill ages. ROs are not degradable by bacteria, and will occupy the limited carbon quota in the discharge limit. Their presences can burden the leachate processing efficiency, which will requiremore temporary lagoons at the expense of limited tipping area. ROs can also chelate with heavy metallic ions or carry organic pollutants into the local environment when discharged. Thus, the removal of ROs is imperative to ensure a sustainable way tomaintain landfill operation and leachate processing.This project aims to develop an electrochemical system to degrade the ROs in leachate to yield more biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to promote biological removal. The project has three milestones: First, the electrochemical oxidative fragmentation of ROsinto small aromatic units. Second, electrochemical hydrogenation of the aromatic units into bio-digestible aliphatic products. Finally, a demonstration of the digestion of aliphatic products in a series of biological testing; using the test result to optimize the electrocatalyst design and the electrochemical parameters; and conducting a technoeconomic analysis.The proposed technology will be applicable to many landfills worldwide as ROs accumulations is a common concern that is faced in all ageing landfill worldwide.