Waste · Leachate
Landfill leachate treatment — a complex stream, treated to standard.
Landfill leachate is one of the most difficult wastewaters: high COD, ammonia, heavy metals and TDS in a variable matrix. Glorinda combines pre-treatment, membranes and ZLD to take leachate to discharge or reuse quality.
Overview
Landfill leachate treatment — a complex stream, treated to standard.
Leachate composition changes with the age and contents of a landfill, so treatment cannot be a fixed recipe. Glorinda characterises the stream and builds a train from biological or adsorbent pre-treatment, membrane concentration and, where discharge is restricted, ZLD — hitting the permit while minimising residual waste.
Because leachate carries high COD, ammoniacal nitrogen, heavy metals and TDS, our adsorbent and membrane technologies matter here: up to 90% COD removal without electricity and heavy-metal removal up to 99.5% for lead.
Typical applications
Where it fits
- Municipal landfill leachate
- Industrial & hazardous landfill leachate
- Ammonia & nitrogen removal
- Heavy-metal removal
- Water reuse from leachate
Common challenges
- Highly variable, high-strength feed
- High COD, ammonia and heavy metals
- Tight discharge limits near sensitive receptors
- Residual concentrate management
Glorinda’s answer
- Tailored biological / adsorbent pre-treatment
- Membrane concentration (RO/UF/NF)
- ZLD for restricted discharge
- Heavy-metal and ammonia removal to permit
Our approach
A stream that refuses to hold still
Landfill leachate is arguably the hardest wastewater in routine industrial practice, and the reason is not any single contaminant. It is that the composition changes with the age of the landfill, the material buried in it, rainfall and season — while simultaneously carrying high COD, ammoniacal nitrogen, heavy metals and high TDS.
A fixed treatment recipe therefore fails. We characterise the stream, then build a train around what is actually present: biological or adsorbent pre-treatment for organic load and metals, membrane concentration to reduce volume, and — where discharge is restricted or the receptor is sensitive — ZLD to take the residual concentrate to solid.
Our adsorbent technology earns its place here specifically. It achieves up to 90% COD removal through a simple flow-through process without electricity, removes heavy metals including up to 99.5% of lead, and addresses cyanide, silica, ammoniacal nitrogen and colour. It produces less than 1% waste compared with roughly 30% typical of RO, and it has no inlet quality limitation — which is precisely the property a variable feed demands.
- 01
Feasibility
Technical and commercial feasibility, technology evaluation and cost/profitability analysis before capital is committed.
- 02
Engineering
Conceptual, basic and detailed engineering, process packages and specification of the equipment that will actually be bought.
- 03
Delivery
EPC or EPCM delivery, or an Owner’s Engineer role protecting your interest through a contractor’s execution.
- 04
Commissioning
Installation supervision, testing, start-up and the training that lets your team run the plant.
- 05
Support
Operation, troubleshooting, process optimisation, maintenance and spare parts for the life of the asset.
FAQ
Good to know
Why is leachate so hard to treat?
Its composition varies with the age and contents of the landfill and it carries high COD, ammonia, heavy metals and TDS together — so treatment has to be characterised and designed for that specific, changing stream.
Can you get leachate to reuse quality?
Often, yes. A train of pre-treatment, membranes and (where needed) ZLD can take leachate to discharge or reuse quality while minimising residual waste.
Send us a leachate analysis.
With a characterisation of your leachate we will design a treatment train to your discharge or reuse target.