Removal of Ammoniacal Nitrogen and COD From Semi-Aerobic Landfill Leachate Using Low-Cost Activated Carbon Zeolite Composite Adsorbent

A carbon-zeolite composite adsorbent has been studied for COD and ammoniacal nitrogen removal in semi-aerobic landfill leachate. The optimum conditions for adsorption in the batch study occurred at pH 7, shaking speed of 200 rpm, and contact time of 105 min. The Langmuir isotherms corresponded slightly better than Freundlich isotherm for both ammoniacal nitrogen and COD removals. The Langmuir adsorption capacities for ammonia and COD were 27.47 mg/g and 22.99 mg/g, while the Freundlich adsorption capacities were 0.4227 mg/g and 0.0642 mg/g, respectively. The overall rate of the ammonia and COD adsorption processes appears to be dominated by chemisorption process. Copyright © 2009, Inderscience Publishers