A Review of Landfill Leachate: Characterization Leachate Environment Impacts and Sustainable Treatment Methods

Solid waste landfilling and related environmental issues have become global concerns, particularly in developing countries. Accelerating population growth and changing lifestyles have exacerbated health and environmental challenges.

This book looks at the global ramifications of leachate characterization and environmental impacts, highlighting the different issues related to landfilling, such as leachate generation and its constituents. When water enters a landfill, it assimilates the dissolved components of the decomposing waste, thus forming a leachate with considerable impacts on the environment. The nature of the landfill and the waste received (household waste alone or mixed with industrial waste) determine whether the leachate produced is hazardous or not. The decomposition of solid waste in landfills goes through several stages, including an initial aerobic phase, an anaerobic acid phase, an initial methanogenic phase and a stable methanogenic phase. Leachates can contain significant concentrations of heavy metals, inorganic salts, ammonia, halogenated hydrocarbons, suspended matter, organic pollutants in significant quantities... Generally, leachate discharges are rich in phenol, highly toxic polluting ammonium. Ecotoxicological assessment of this effluent is essential to determine the impact of its contaminants on the aquatic ecosystem. If pollutants are not disposed of properly, leachate from landfills can potentially enter soils and subsoils, severely contaminating surface and groundwater bodies.

Therefore, reducing pollutant levels through leachate treatment has garnered considerable attention in recent decades. This publication is an invaluable resource, providing up-to-date information on the impact and characterization of leachate landfills. It is therefore time to accentuate the training of executives with all the skills to facilitate the waste management through the research efforts of academics, in the field of solid wastelandfill operations.

Dr. Abdelkader Anouzla received his Ph.D. in Science & Technology at Hassan II University -Faculty of Science and Technology Mohammedia, specializing in water treatment. Dr. Abdelkader ANOUZLA has published almost 60 peer-reviewed articles and six books. As well as being a guest speaker at several conferences, he has also published numerous proceedings. He has experience in water and wastewater, solid waste management, environmental chemistry, pollutants in soil, study and characterization of waste, recycling, and reuse of waste to produce new materials, and air pollution. Anouzla conducts research in the areas of water and waste treatment, wastewater treatment plant operation, leachate discharge treatment, solid waste sorting, technical landfill management, and composting of solid waste and sludge from wastewater treatment plants, the Algae as a Natural Solution for Water-Food-Energy nexus and Microplastic pollution in the environment, digitalization in the water sector, Saving water in business and irrigation.

Prof. Salah Souabi PHD water and waste treatment works at the Hassan II University in Mohammedia, the Laboratory of Process and Environmental Engineering of Morocco’s Faculty of Science and Technology. Prof. Souabi is responsible for a research team on managing liquid and solid discharges, with 152 articles published in international journals and 22 book chapters. He is the publisher of five books. Salah conducts research in water and waste treatment, optimization of treatment conditions of wastewater treatment plants, treatment of leachate discharges, sorting of solid waste, management of technical landfills, operation of wastewater treatment plants, composting of solid waste and sludge from wastewater treatment plants using composts in agroecology.