Photoassisted fenton oxidation of refractory organics in UASB-pretreated leachate

Nearly 91% of organic pollutants in Hong Kong leachate could be effectively removed by the UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) process followed by the fenton coagulation. The COD (chemical oxygen demand) of leachate was lowered from an average of 5620 mg/L to 1910 mg/L after the UASB treatment at 37°C, and was further lowered to 513 mg/L after fenton coagulation. The remaining refractory residues could be further removed by photochemical oxidation with the addition of H₂O₂. The BOD/COD ratio was greatly increased from 0.062 to 0.142, indicating the biodegradability of organic residues was improved. The photochemical oxidation for the fenton-coagulation supernatant was most effective at pH 3-4, with the addition of 800 mg/L of H₂O₂, and UV radiation time of 30 minutes. The final effluent contained only 148 mg/L of COD, 21 mg/L of BOD(biochemical oxygen demand) and 56 mg/L of TOC (total organic carbon).