Impacts of different aged landfill leachate on PVC corrosion

Landfill leachate is generally transferred to in situ facilities for advanced treatment by using a pipe system. Because of its harmful and complex compounds, leachate may react with pipe materials, leading to corrosion and scaling. This experimental study uses typical PVC pipe material and investigates its anti-corrosion performance by placing the material samples into different aged leachates. By evaluating the changes in different experimental parameters, including calcium, magnesium, and chloride ion concentration, oxidation-reduction potential, dissolved oxygen, and pH, combined with a characterization of the material properties, we infer the main causes of pipe scaling-corrosion. Results show that the scaling is more intense in the younger leachate, and the concentration of calcium ions is the dominant influencing factor. The scaling might be resulted from joint actions of chemical precipitation and microbial metabolic activities. It is expected the study to provide useful insights into taking effective actions on anti-clogging, and enhance pipes design by selection of appropriate materials for future modification.