Nitrogen removal and heavy metals in leachate treatment using SBR technology

Biological nitrogen removal by the use of Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBRs) is today an accepted and well proven model. The results of SBR performance on nitrogen removal have encouraged consultants, engineering companies and landfill operators to develop and build full scale SBR plants at a number of sites in Sweden. Two of these plants, Isätra and Norsa, have been studied closely. The Norsa plant treats leachate at a controlled water temperature, while the Isätra plant is exposed to temperature variation throughout the year. Both plants have very well proven nitrogen removal capacities, although winter conditions have an adverse impact on their performance. Typical nitrification efficiency is close to 100%, while the total nitrogen removal is about 90-95% under stable operation conditions. A good relationship between the nitrogen load and the nitrification rate has been observed at the Norsa SBR plant. The heavy metal content in the leachate is very low thanks to anaerobic precipitation inside the landfill into metal sulphides. The heavy metal content in the biological sludge is consequently also very low.