Solar photo-Fenton oxidation of mature landfill leachate: empirical model and chemical inferences

ABSTRACT

In this study, a stochastic model was applied to investigate the degradation of landfill leachate by solar photo-Fenton processes. The coefficient of determination (R²) between experimental and predicted data ranged from 0.9958–0.9995. The optimal conditions for the initial phase (lasting 5–22 min) were high Fe²⁺ level, low pH level, and intermediate H₂O₂ level. For the second phase, optimal leachate degradation percentages were obtained by maintaining the pH, increasing H₂O_2, and decreasing Fe²⁺ to the lowest level. Determination of optimal reaction conditions (such as pH, Fe²⁺, and H₂O₂ values) for both degradation phases is of paramount importance for process scale-up. The major contribution of this study was the development of a tool that considers the effects of one or more reactions on organic carbon degradation. This was achieved by assessing the significance of the effects of experimental conditions on model parameters for the fast and slow steps of leachate degradation by advanced oxidation processes.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Inference mechanisms
• sanitary landfill
• solar photo-Fenton
• stochastic model
• organic carbon oxidation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Brazil) grant number 408742/2018-6 and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Brazil) grant number 2009/1765-2; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior.