Color removal in the combined treatment of landfill leachate and domestic sewage via PACT ® process

ABSTRACT Sixteen batch reactors fed with different mixtures of landfill leachate combined with synthetic wastewater were treated using the PACT® process (activated sludge process plus powdered activated carbon addition - PAC). The objective was to measure the color removal using two mathematical adjustments: the first adjustment combined the variables PAC concentration (0 to 6 g.L-1) and landfill leachate concentration in the wastewater (0 to 10%, in volume); and the second model combined PAC concentration and the influent color (276 to 1,199 uH). The response surface methodology was used to describe the response of both adjustments. The results indicated that as the proportion of leachate was increased up to 5%, higher PAC concentrations resulted in a better color removal in the reactors. When the leachate proportion was 10%, the reactors were less efficacious, except for the one with 6 g.L-1, which presented the highest color removal within the experiment.