Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management,

5 - 7 September 2007, Chennai, India. pp.466-473

Municipal Solid Waste Treatment in Simulated Bioreactor Landfills

Operated with High Ammonia-N
Obuli. P. Karthikeyan, Kurian Joseph and R. Nagendran

Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, Chennai – 600 025.

ABSTRACT

The objective of this research paper is to highlight the effects of high ammonia-N upon the
waste stabilization in simulated bioreactor landfills. Two bench scale reactors were filled with
organic fraction of MSW collected from a residential area of Chennai, and operated as
bioreactor landfill following weekly leachate recirculation over a period of 225 days. One
reactor was operated as control; and another one was operated with 3,000 mg/L of ammonia-
N in leachate. Changes in leachate pH, conductivity, solids (total and volatile), organic
contents (COD and TOC), nitrogenous compounds (TKN and NH4+) were monitored. Effect in
terms of volatile solids, carbon and nitrogen reduction in MSW are discussed.

Keywords: Municipal Solid Waste, landfill, bioreactors, stabilization, ammonia-N and toxicity

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Research towards exploring the potential of landfill bioreactors to enhance the stabilization of
municipal solid waste (MSW), treatment of leachate and biogas generation initiated as early as 1970.
Increasing attention is being given to leachate recirculation in landfill bioreactor as an effective means
to enhance microbial decomposition of biodegradable solid waste (Reinhart and Grosh, 1998; San and
Onay, 2001). Leachate from landfill that receives organic waste is characterized by a high strength of
BOD and nitrogen (Trabelsi et al., 2000). Nitrogen is removed from refuse through ammonification
and solubilization and accumulates as ammonia in leachate. As reviewed by Jokela and Rintala
(2003), MSW has been estimated to contain at least 4% protein and therefore ammonia is produced
during the decomposition of organic nitrogen. High concentrations of ammonia in the leachate may
become a hindrance to the effective functioning of bioreactor landfills.

It is well known that ammonia (NH3/NH4+), a product of anaerobic protein degradation, is essential for
bacterial growth and when present in high concentrations, it inhibits methanogenesis. Earlier studies
have investigated the inhibitory effect of ammonia nitrogen in anaerobic degradation processes,
Ammonia inhibition upon methanogensis from solid waste refuse placed in landfill bioreactors has not
been intensively studied (Omil et al., 1995; Gallert and Winter 1997; Hansen et al., 1998 and Calli et
al., 2005).

The present study is aimed to determine the effect of ammonia-N concentration upon waste
stabilization in terms of volatile solids and carbon reduction in bench scale reactors operated as
bioreactor.

466
 Sustainable Solid Waste Management

2.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Waste Characterization

MSW samples were collected from a residential waste collection point at Chennai, India. The samples
were manually segregated into biodegradable (food waste, paper, garden waste, textiles, wood and
leather), non-biodegradable (plastics, glass, metals) and inert fractions (soil and sand). Moisture
content (MC), total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total
Kjeldhal nitrogen (TKN) in the waste was determined as per the standard methods (APHA, 1998).

2.2 Experimental Conditions

The reactors used in this work were cylindrical, 1000 mm height and 160 mm diameter with the
volume of 20 L capacity. These bench scale PVC reactors were designed to simulate landfill
bioreactor under controlled anaerobic conditions and they were operated in batch mode. The
schematic configuration of the reactor is shown in Figure 1. Gravel bed was provided at the bottom of
the reactors for leachate drainage. Leachate collection and recirculation provisions were made in each
reactor, i.e, recirculation port at the top with funnel for recirculation and tap at the bottom to drain the
leachate. Leachate storage tank with a capacity of 10 L was provided for each reactor.
160 mm

Top Removable Cap

Volume
20 L
1000 mm

Reactor

OFMSW

Gravels

Bottom Removable Cap

Tap

Leachate Storage
Tank Volume
10 L

Figure 1 Schematic of Experimental Setup

Ten kilograms of biodegradable fraction of MSW were loaded in to two different reactors and
compacted to achieve compaction density of around 650 kg/m3. One reactor was operated as control
and another one as the test reactor spiked with ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) to maintain 3000 ppm
NH4-N in leachate throughout the study. Chemical addition was started after 4th week of operations in
test bioreactor. Leachate were collected for the physicochemical characterization and quantified

467
 Municipal Solid Waste Treatment in Simulated Bioreactor Landfills Operated with High Ammonia-N

before recirculation on weekly basis. Based on the initial moisture content of the solid waste loaded
into the reactor the leachate recirculation volume was maintained constantly as 5.5 L (L:S ratio of 1:1)
supplemented with distilled water throughout the study.

2.3 Leachate Characterization

Weekly leachate samples were collected in plastic bottles, preserved at 4ºC and analyzed for pH, EC,
TS, VS, COD, TOC (AJ, Micro-C), TKN, and ammonia-N (Butchi B-324), as per the standard
methods (APHA, 1998). Three ratios (COD/TOC, TKN/Amm-N and VS/FS) that serve as indicators
of the extent of stabilization of waste were computed.

3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Solid Waste Characteristics

MSW used for the studies contained 80% of biodegradable, 18% non-biodegradable and 2% inerts. It
had high moisture content (58 - 62%) with 38 - 42% of solids. Carbon content was around 30 - 32%
and TKN contributed around 1.8 - 2.2% of the fresh waste.

Changes in solid waste characteristics in control and test bioreactors after 225 days are depicted in
Figure 2. The VS reduced up to 75% and 65% in test and control bioreactor landfills, respectively.
With respect to carbon content, a maximum reduction of 52% was observed in test bioreactor
compared to that of control bioreactor (42%). In contrast, nitrogen content from control bioreactor
reduced to a maximum extent (54%) than that of test bioreactor (20%), mainly due to the addition of
ammonium chloride.

70 35
Control Test Control
60 Test
30
V olatile S olids (% )

50 25 42 %
65 % 75 % 52 %
Carbon (%)

40 20
30 15
20 10
10 5

0 0

1.4
Control Test
1.2
20 %
1
Nitrogen (% )

54 %
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

Figure 2 Changes in Solid Waste Characteristics in Control and Test Bioreactors

468
 Sustainable Solid Waste Management

3.2 Leachate Characteristics

3.2.1 pH and Conductivity
Leachate pH varied from 4.6 to 6.5 and 5.3 to 6.9, respectively for control and test bioreactors (Figure
3a). In both the reactors, initially leachate pH was acidic indicating the accumulation of volatile fatty
acids in the early stage of bioreactor operations; after 18th week pH started increasing. Chian and
Dewalle (1976) have reported that the pH of leachate increases with time due to the decrease in the
concentration of VFA in the system and the results are further supported by Warith (2002). The
increase in pH suggests that a steady state has been reached between acid-producing and consuming
processes within the reactors. The duration to develop a steady state between acid producers and
consumers was lesser in test bioreactor.

Changes in EC of the leachate are depicted in Figure 3b. Initially, the conductivity values were very
high (29 – 30 mS/cm) in both the reactors mainly due to the effect of washout by leachate flushing. In
control reactor, conductivity reached a minimum value (6.02 mS/cm) at the end of the study period.
This may be attributed to the dilution effect of leachate recirculation and the results are further
supported by Valencia et al. (2005). Continuous addition of NH4Cl produced leachate with high
conductivity in test bioreactor. Maximum EC value of 52.2 mS/cm was recorded during the 14th week
of sampling and the quantity of NH4Cl added during that week was around 32g. Though the
conductivity values were similar in control and test bioreactors during the first four weeks, addition of
chemicals after 4th week led to the buildup in an electrical conductivity in test bioreactor. At the end
of study period, an EC value of 34.8 mS/cm was observed in the test bioreactor.

Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate) Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate)

8
0
60 0
10 54 10
7
Conductivity (m S/cm )

48
C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o

C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o n
20
20
42
30
36 30
pH

6 40
30 40
50 24 50
5 60 18
60
12
70 70
6
4 80 0 80
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31
Time (Week)
Time (Week)

(a) (b)
Figure 3 Variations in Leachate pH (a) and EC (b) in Control and Test Bioreactors

3.2.2 Solids
Leaching pattern of solids i.e., total and volatile solids from control and test bioreactors are depicted
in Figure 4. Initial concentrations of these were high in both the reactors, with an average value of
50g/L of TS leaching from the MSW. Concentrations were almost similar upto 6th week (30g/L
during 6th week) in control and test reactors after that the pattern was high in test reactor. A minimum
concentration of 2.6 and 14 g/L of TS leached at the end of study from control and test bioreactors,
respectively. Leaching of VS varied widely from 1.2 to 29g/L and 6.5 to 25 g/L from control and test
bioreactors, respectively. Like TS, leaching of VS was maximum in test bioreactor as compared to
control. The concentrations of inorganic matter were measured by total fixed solids (FS). The
average ratio of VS to FS in the leachate from control and test bioreactors was 1.2 and 1.5,
respectively. At the end of the study period, the ratios declined to 0.9 and 0.8 for control and test

469
 Municipal Solid Waste Treatment in Simulated Bioreactor Landfills Operated with High Ammonia-N

bioreactors respectively. Similar observations in respect of relatively young and old MSW fills have
been reported by Chian and DeWalle (1976).

Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate) Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate)

55000 0 30000 0
50000
10 10
45000 25000

Volatile Solids (mg/L)

C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o n
Total Solids (m g/L)

C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o
40000 20 20
35000 30 20000
30
30000
40 15000 40
25000
20000 50 50
10000
15000 60 60
10000 5000
70 70
5000
0 80 0 80
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31
Time (Week) Time (Week)

(a) (b)
Figure 4 Variations in Leachate TS (a) and VS (b) in Control and Test Bioreactors

3.2.3 Organics
Changes in leachate organic concentrations (COD and TOC) in control and test bioreactors are shown
in Figure 5. Owing to their biodegradable nature, organic compounds, which contribute to COD and
TOC, decrease more rapidly with time in control and test bioreactors. Initial COD concentrations were
high (72-74 g/L) in both the bioreactors and leaching pattern was similar upto 6th week. It is mainly
due to the rapid release and hydrolysis of organics from MSW into the leachate (Sponza and Agdag,
2004). The trend was decline initially then exhibiting a short increasing trend after 4th week in the data
set and then decreasing trend throughout the study period in both the reactors. Chugh (1998) has
demonstrated a decrease in COD start within 15 days in a recirculated solid waste reactor. In contrast,
Bae et al. (1998) have reported that COD decrease start after about 100 days through anaerobic
incubation.

Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate)

80000 0 Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate)

70000 10 25000 0
C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o n

60000 20 10
COD (m g/L)

20000
C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o

50000 30 20
TOC (mg/L)

30
40000 40 15000
40
30000 50
10000 50
20000 60
60
10000 70 5000
70
0 80
0 80
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31

Time (Week) Time (Week)

(a) (b)
Figure 5 Variations in Leachate COD (a) and TOC (b) in Control and Test Bioreactors

The initial concentrations were 23.7 and 22.2g/L in control and test bioreactors, respectively.
Decreasing trend was noticed upto 9th and 10th week in test and control bioreactors, respectively, and
after that it slightly increased then followed by continuous decreasing trend through out the study
period. At the end of the study period, it was noticed that the concentrations were minimum in
control (1.1g/L) and test (4.8g/L) bioreactors. The COD to TOC ratio represents the measure of the

470
 Sustainable Solid Waste Management

availability of the organic carbon as an energy source. In control bioreactor, the COD to TOC ratio
varied from 3.2 to 1.9. The test bioreactor exhibited high (3.2 to 2.1) COD to TOC ratio throughout
the period. For soluble organic compounds, the COD/TOC ratio can theoretically reach a maximum
value of 4. A low COD/TOC ratio indicates a more oxidized state of organic carbon in which carbon
is less readily available as an energy source for microorganisms (El-Fadel et al., 2002).

3.2.4 Nitrogen
Variations in leachate nitrogenous compounds (TKN and Amm-N) in control and test bioreactors over
a time period are depicted in Figure 6. Unlike that of organic pollutants, the concentration of TKN
(1.1 – 0.6g/L) and Amm-N (0.5 – 0.3g/L) reduced sharply from the initial values and maintained
throughout the period in control bioreactor. At the end of the study period, both the TKN and Amm-N
reached a minimum level of 284 and 278 mg/L, respectively. Most of the total kjeldhal nitrogen was
found to be in ammonical form. Chu et al. (1994) too have reported that the ammonical nitrogen
concentration of landfill leachate ranged between 500 and 1500mg/L after a period of 3-8 years and
will remain at this level atleast for the next 50 years.

In test bioreactor, initial pattern was similar to that of control. Addition of NH4Cl from the 4th week of
bioreactor operation led to high ammonical nitrogen concentration in the system. A total of 291.72g of
NH4Cl was used to adjust the leachate ammonical nitrogen concentration to 3000 ppm during the
study period. A maximum of 39.9g was used to attain 3g/L in leachate during the 4th week of
operation. The leachate ammonia concentration during the 5th week reduced to 0.8g/L and same trend
was noticed in subsequent weeks. Then, the values gradually increased and maintained at 3±0.3g/L
after 15th week in test bioreactor. According to Speece (1996) and Jokela et al. (2002), such a
decrease could be attributed to the ammonium bicarbonate alkalinity, which in turn maintains a pH
close to neutral in the anaerobic solid waste bioreactors. Maximum concentrations of TKN (3.9g/L)
and Amm-N (4.0 g/L) were recorded during the 17th and 19th weeks of reactor operation, respectively.
Average Org-N content leached out from the control and test bioreactors was 0.08 and 0.3 g/L,
respectively. It shows that the Org-N leaching is more from the simulated bioreactor with high
ammonia-N (3 g/L) concentrations. It is known that acetate utilizing methanogens are more sensitive
than hydrogen utilizers, particularly at high ammonia concentrations (Callie et al., 2005; Hansen et al.,
1998). Van Velsen (1979) has reported that acclimation to high concentration of ammonia-N was
possible in anaerobic reactors.
Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate)
Control (Leachate) Test (Leachate)
0
4000 0
4500
10
3500 4000 10
C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o n

Am m o n ia-N (m g /L )

C h e m i c a l a d d i ti o n

20
3000 3500 20
T K N (m g /L )

2500 30 3000
30
40 2500
2000 40
2000
1500 50
50
1500
1000 60 60
1000
500 70 70
500
0 80 0 80
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31

Time (Week) Time (Week)

(a) (b)
Figure 6 Variations in Leachate TKN (a) and Amm-N (b) in Control and Test Bioreactors

471
 Municipal Solid Waste Treatment in Simulated Bioreactor Landfills Operated with High Ammonia-N

4.0 CONCLUSIONS

Summary of findings from study are,

ƒ Volatile solids and carbon reductions were maximum (75 and 52 %, respectively) in test bioreactor
compared to that in control
ƒ Comparison of leachate pH in control and test bioreactors, indicated that the duration to develop a
steady state between acid producer and acid consumers is lesser in test reactor
ƒ High conductivity values in the test reactors are mainly due to the addition of ammonium chloride
in leachate
ƒ Total and volatile solids leaching are maximum from the test reactor with an average VS to FS
ratio of 1.5.
ƒ Test bioreactor exhibited high COD to TOC (3.2 to 2.1) ratio throughout the period.
ƒ Org-N leaching is more from the test reactor.

From the above findings, it may be concluded that the concentration of 3g/L of ammonium is not toxic
to anaerobic degradation in bioreactors and the microorganisms get acclimatized to such high
ammonium concentrations and leach out maximum organic load from MSW within a short time span.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors wish to acknowledge the Swedish International Development co-operation Agency
(SIDA) for the research grant. The co-operation and help extended by Asian Institute of Technology
(AIT), Thailand and Corporation of Chennai (CoC) are also thankfully acknowledged.

REFERENCES

APHA, “Standard methods for examination of water and waste water” 20th ed., edited by Eaton, A.D.,
Clesceri, L.S. and Greenburg, A.E., Am. Pub. Hlth. Asso., New York (1998).
Bae J.H., Cho K.W., Bum B.S., Lee S.J. and Yoon B.H., “Effects of leachate recycle and anerobic
digester sludge recycle on the methane production from solid waste”, Water Science and
Technology, Vol. 38 (2), pp.159-168 (1998).
Calli B., Mertoglu B., Inanc B., and Yenigun O., “Effects of high free ammonia concentrations on the
performance of anaerobic bioreactors”, Process Biochemistry, Vol. 40, pp.1285-1292 (2005).
Chian E.S.K. and DeWalle F.B., “Sanitary landfill leachates and their treatment”, J. Environ. Engg.
Div. ASCE, Vol.102, pp.411-431 (1976).
Chu L.M., Cheung, K.C. and Wong M.H., “Variations in the chemical properties of landfill leachate”,
Environmental Management, Vol. 18 (1), pp.105-117 (1994).
El-Fadel M., Bou-Zeid E., Chahine W. and Alayli B., “Temporal variation of leachate quality from
pre-sorted and baled municipal sold waste with high organic and moisture content”, Waste
Mgt., Vol.22, pp.269–282 (2002).
Gallert C., and Winter J., “Mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion of source-sorted organic
waste: effect of ammonia on glucose degradation and methane production”, Applied
Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 48, pp.405-410 (1997).
Hansen K.H., Angelidaki I., and Ahring B.K., “Anaerobic digestion of swine manure: inhibition by
ammonia”, Water Research, Vol. 32, pp.5-12 (1998).

472
 Sustainable Solid Waste Management

Jokela J.P.Y. and Rintala J.A., ‘Anaerobic solubilization of nitrogen from municipal solid waste’,
Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology, Vol. 2, pp. 67-77 2003.
Jokela, J.P.Y., Kettunen R.H., Sormunen K.M., “Biological nitrogen removal from municipal landfill
leachate: low cost nitrification in biofilters and laboratory scale insitu denitrification”, Water
Research, Vol. 36, pp.4079-4087 (2002).
Omil F., Mendez R., and Lema J.M., “Anaerobic treatment of saline wastewaters under high sulfide
and ammonia content, Bioresource Technology, Vol. 54, pp.269-278 (1995).
Reinhart, D.R. and Grosh C.J., ‘Analysis of Florida MSW landfill leachate quality’, Report 97-3,
Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, pp. 31-53 (1998).
San I. and Onay T.T., “Impact of various recirculation regimes on municipal solid waste degradation”,
Journal of Hazardous Material, Vol. B87, pp.259-271 (2001).
Speece R.E., “Anaerobic biotechnology for industrial wastewater, Archae Press, Nashville Tennessee,
USA (1996).
Sponza D.T. and Agdag O.N., “Impact of leachate recirculation and recirculation volume on
stabilization of municipal solid wastes in simulated anaerobic bioreactors”, Process
Biochemistry, Vol. 39, pp.2157-2165 (2004).
Trabelsi I., Horibe H., Tanaka N., and Matsuto T., “Origin of low carbon/nitrogen ratios in leachate
from old municipal solid waste landfills”, Waste Management and Research, Vol. 18, pp.224-
234 (2000).
Valencia R., Vanderzon W., Woelders H., Lubberding H.J. and Gijzen H.J., “Evaluation and fate of
nitrogen compounds in pilot scale bioreactor landfills”, Sardinia 2005, Proceedings of the 10th
International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, Cagliari, Italy, (October 3-7,
2005).
Van Velsen A.F.M., “Adaptation of methanogenic sludge to high ammonia-nitrogen concentrations”,
Water Research, Vol. 13, pp.995-1009 (1979).
Warith M. A., “Bioreactor landfills: experimental and field results”, Waste management, Vol. 22,
pp.7-17 (2002).

473