TREATMENT OF LEACHED PRODUCED IN SANITARY LANDFILLS USING UNITARY EVAPORATOR

Abstract

Currently, one of the great concerns of the cities with high demographic densities is the treatment of the leachate generated in the sanitary landfills of municipal solid wastes.
In the case of Gramacho sanitary landfill, operated by the Public Cleansing Company of Rio de Janeiro -COMLURB, that takes care of the boroughs of Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, São João de Meriti, Nilópolis, Belford Roxo, Queimados and Mesquita, a total of 8 millions of peoples, is estimated 200 milliliters of leachate generated by inhabitant per day.

One of the options for leachate treatment is its evaporation through equipment, developed by COMLURB named Unitary Evaporator that uses the biogas generated in the landfill as the source of energy. This type of treatment also contributes to reduce the potential of global warming due to the burning of methane, biogas main component. However, it's necessary a more detailed study on the sub-products generated by leachate evaporation so that this type of treatment results more efficient, preventing the generation of others pollutants harmful to the human health and the environment.

Key Words: biogas, evaporation, leachate, sanitary landfill.