Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for reduction of organic pollutants in landfill leachate: a review

Uncontrolled municipal landfill leachate during landfilling can seriously pollute groundwater, surface water and soil. Over the past decades, a variety of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs), primarily utilising hydroxyl radicals to effect water purification, have been frequently investigated for treatment of landfill leachate. This paper first summarises the typical characteristics of organic compounds in leachate, and then reviews the AOPs applied for leachate treatment, including O3-based, UV-based, Fenton-based, and two emerging (ultrasound irradiation and electronic-beam irradiation) AOPs. Finally, some issues in advanced oxidation treatment of landfill leachate are briefly remarked.