Evaluation of septage disposal in stabilization ponds that treat landfill leachate

Abstract

The destination of septage has resulted in environmental and public health problems, due especially to the lack of adequate alternatives for its destination and of closer, more rigorous monitoring. The problem worsens in areas lacking sewage treatment plants, since the disposal in such systems has been the most widely used practice in the country. In this way, the current research aims to evaluate the effects of the sludge disposal in the performance, operation and maintenance of waste stabilization ponds that treat landfill leachate. The treatment system studied is composed by two modules of identical anaerobic ponds followed by facultative ponds. For six months, the receiver modul was submitted to different rates of volumetric sludge application by leachate (13 to 204%). Student's t test was used for statistics analysis. The results indicated that for the maximum rate, the receiver module effluent showed concentrations 1.8; 2.0; and 9.0 times higher than the control modul, phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen and E. coli, respectively. In addition, there was an increase in the sedimented sludge in the receiving anaerobic pond (3.5 times in relation to the control group) and scum formation (0.4 m³ per month). However, the interferences in the operation and maintenance have simple solutions, since these residues may be sorted in the landfill itself and the release patterns in water bodies were not thwarted. In this way, the stabilization ponds that treat leachate present a competitive alternative for the destination of septage, safeguarding all operating conditions studied.

Keywords:
septage; stabilization ponds; leachate treatment.