[Technological characteristics of bioreactor landfill with aeration in the upper layer]

In order to study the effects of upper-layer aerobic pretreatment in bioreactors on refuse degradation, leachate condition and methane production, two simulated columns were constructed, including traditional anaerobic bioreactor A1 and hybrid bioreactor C1 with aeration pretreatment in the upper layer. Results indicated that A1 was seriously inhibited by the accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFA) with nearly no methane production and slower settlements. At the end of operations, refuse in A1 only deposited 5.4 cm which was less than half of that in C1. And up to 70 000 mg x L(-1) COD and 30 000 mg x L(-1) VFA could be monitored in the leachate. On the contrary, aerobic pretreatment effectively improved the removal of high VFA concentrations and remarkably accelerated the degradation rate. In bioreactor C1, COD and VFA concentrations were reduced to less than 14000 mg x L(-1) and 8900 mg x L(-1) at the end of the experiment, respectively. And about 61 976 mL methane gases were produced since aeration ceased on day 60 with its methane recovery efficiency rising to over 95%. However, the performance of hybrid bioreactors was still closely related to its operation conditions, such as aeration supply and leachate recirculation. Therefore, in order to guarantee better performance, appropriate aeration and leachate operations need to be provided.