Combination of Electrocogulation and Aeration Processes by Addition NaCl for Leachate Treatment

Abstract

Leachate is  water which is formed in a pile of garbage that dissolves a lot of existing compounds so that it has a very high pollutant content, especially organics substances. Leachate has the potential to cause water pollution, both surface water, ground water and  underground water, so it needs to be managed properly. Leachate processing uses a combination of electrocoagulation and aeration methods. The objective of this study is to determine leachate characteristics before and after the processes, the optimum treatment conditions, and the effectiveness of the treatment processes in reducing pollutant content.  Electrocoagulation is able to reduce the characteristics of the waste pollutant content in terms of increasing pH and decreasing total disolved solid (TDS), total suspended solid (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), and waste turbidity.  This condition occurs due to the process of coagulation of pollutants by applying electric current to electrochemical reactions. The working principle of electrocoagulation is the dissolution of anode metal (M+), which reacts with hydroxyl ions (OH-) to form coagulants. The experiment was conducted in batch, where the leachate is put into an electrochemical cell containing 2 aluminum electrodes with dimensions of 10 cm x 10 cm. The parameters varied are the aeration process and variations in the addition of NaCl. The optimum conditions are achieved in the electrocoagulation process with aeration and the addition of 2 g/L NaCl. The most significant processing effectiveness of the process is TDS 34.06%, TSS 81.46%, COD 54.26%, BOD5 53.76%, and turbidity 92.92% respectively.