Fixed-Bed Studies of Landfill Leachate Treatment Using Chitosan-Coated Carbon Composite

Abstract

The feasibility of a chitosan-coated coconut-shell (CS) carbon composite for landfill leachate treatment in a fixed-bed study was investigated in terms of COD and NH3-N removal. The surface of the composite was characterized using SEM, FT-IR, and XRD to assess any changes before and after column operations. To enhance its cost-effectiveness, the saturated composite was regenerated using NaOH. The results showed that the composite had significantly better removal of both COD and NH3-N, as compared to CS and/or chitosan (p ≤ 0.05; ANOVA test), respectively. The breakthrough curve obtained from the fixed-bed studies exhibited an ideal “S” shape. The breakthrough points for the adsorbents followed the order of CS at BV 76 < chitosan at 200 BV