Importance of Combined Electrochemical Process Sequence and Electrode Arrangements: A Lab-scale Trial of Real Reverse Osmosis Landfill Leachate Concentrate

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a widely applied technique for wastewater effluent reuse and landfill leachate treatment. The latter generates a refractory RO leachate concentrate (ROLC), for which cost-effective treatment is required. This study focuses on a two-step electrochemical method consisting of aluminum-based electrocoagulation (EC), and simultaneous electrooxidation-electrocoagulation with a titanium-based lead dioxide (Ti/s-PbO2) anode and aluminum cathode (EOEC) assembly. The sequence and electrode arrangements of the combined electrochemical process were investigated to determine the organic transformation, Ti/s-PbO2 anode viability, and energy consumption. Series-based EC-EOEC decreased the total chemical oxygen demand (COD) from 8750 mg L−1 to 380 mg L−1, a 96% removal efficiency, in 3.5 hours at 141 A m−2. Under a low energy consumption of 28.7 kWh kgCOD−1, the ROLC biodegradability (BOD5/COD) significantly increased from 0.015 to 0.530, which was ascribed to aromatic removal (e.g., -C=C) and an increase in -COOH functional groups. Furthermore, the rapid removal of natural organic matter and increase in pH elevation from EC suppressed the dissolution of Pb from the Ti/s-PbO2 anode during the subsequent EOEC, thereby leaving 0.061 mg L−1 in the ROLC after treatment. The treatment cost was 3.86 USD kgCOD−1, which was approximately 34% lower than that of previously reported electrochemical processes for ROLC treatment. These findings obtained with a real RO concentrate provide a foundation for scaling up this new electrochemical treatment approach.