Abstract
A new and promising trend in solid waste management is to treat the landfill as a bioreactor. Bioreactor landfills are controlled systems in which moisture control and/or air injection are used as enhancements to create a solid waste environment capable of actively degrading the readily biodegradable organic fraction of the waste. Moisture control, usually accomplished via leachate recirculation, can be an effective leachate treatment method. When recirculating leachate, the leachate is treated in-situ, often resulting in a rapid reduction of both biodegradable organic compounds and heavy metals, thus serving as a viable and potentially long-term treatment method. However, treatment challenges remain, including the persistence of ammonia-nitrogen and humic and xenobiotic compounds in the leachate. These challenges must be addressed before bioreactor landfills are an accepted means for long-term leachate …