Characterization and anaerobic treatment of landfill leachate

For years, solid wastes generated in Puerto Rico have been disposed in municipal sanitary landfills (MSL) operated without concern of groundwater contamination by leachate. New federal regulations establishes that leachate collection and treatment systems should be used where necessary to protect ground and surface water.; Composite leachate samples were collected at the Cabo Rojo's MSL and treated in the upflow hybrid anaerobic reactor (UHAR). Samples were used for leachate characterization, studies of anaerobic toxicity assay (ATA), and biochemical methane potential (BMP).; Leachate characteristics obtained were within the range of leachate characterization data obtained in United States and Puerto Rico. The maximum rate ratio in the ATA experiment was greater than one, which indicates no toxicity in leachate samples. In BMP however, gas production was extremely low after nearly two months. This may indicate the presence of complex organic compounds and/or non-degradable organics in leachate.; The UHAR was seeded with anaerobic granules, from Baxter wastewater treatment plant, and fed with a mixture of acetic and propionic acids and the macronutrients used in BMP and ATA. The system was designed by the reduction in mixture feeding in conjunction with gradual increment of leachate feeding. This project was the first work made in Puerto Rico to study treatability of leachate produced in the Island's MSL.