Evaluation of the main pollutants present in Brazilian landfill leachates using ecotoxicity assays

The present study investigated the acute toxic effects caused by the main pollutants found in landfill leachates: total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), alkalinity, and humic substances (HS) for the test organisms Vibrio fischeri, Danio rerio, Daphnia similis, and Artemia sp. The leachates were obtained from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Process safety and environmental protection 2023-05, Vol.173, p.426-436
Main Authors: Costa, Alyne Moraes, Valentim, Marllon Robert dos Santos, Azevedo, Diogo José Menezes de, Quintaes, Bianca Ramalho, Daflon, Sarah Dario Alves, Campos, Juacyara Carbonelli
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute toxicity
Ammonia nitrogen
Humic substances
Landfill leachate
Membrane filtration
Vibrio fischeri
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Summary:The present study investigated the acute toxic effects caused by the main pollutants found in landfill leachates: total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), alkalinity, and humic substances (HS) for the test organisms Vibrio fischeri, Danio rerio, Daphnia similis, and Artemia sp. The leachates were obtained from two Brazilian landfills with different ages and operating modes. Air stripping and membrane filtration treatability experiments were performed to remove pollutants from the leachate. The results showed high toxicity of the raw leachate from both landfills for the studied organisms. In the individual treatments, air stripping achieved TAN and alkalinity removal efficiencies > 99%, and the membrane filtration treatment achieved HS removal efficiencies > 98%. Compared to the individual treatments, the combination of treatments resulted in the most significant reductions in leachate toxicity from both landfills for all test organisms studied. The principal component analysis showed a strong correlation between COD or HS parameters and the toxicity of V. fischeri and strong correlations between TAN and the toxicity of D. rerio, D. similis, and Artemia sp. Finally, this study highlights the application of a treatment route to remove acute toxicity from complex effluents, such as landfill leachate, to avoid potential environmental hazards to the aquatic ecosystem.
ISSN:0957-5820
1744-3598
DOI:10.1016/j.psep.2023.03.020