Photochemical Iron-Mediated Aeration Treatment of Landfill Leachate

Landfilling is the most common method of solid waste disposal in the United
States. However, a reported issue with landfill management is the production of
leachate, which is a wastewater that is typically too strong to be discharged to
municipal wastewater treatment facilities. After reviewing the performance of
existing leachate treatment methods, it is clear that an understanding of emerging
issues and an all-inclusive solution to long-term management of leachate is currently
not available. The goal of this project is to address the lack of viable and sustainable
engineering alternatives for handling leachate. One such futuristic technology is
called Photochemical Iron Mediated Aeration (PIMA).
Based on the Iron Mediated Aeration process, the PIMA process involves the
combined oxidation effect of hydroxyl radicals and ultraviolet radiation with the air
stripping potential of aeration. The experiments conducted demonstrated promising
results but also the lack of maturity of this technique.