Treatment of stabilized landfill leachate using coupled Fenton-like and adsorption process onto Moroccan bentonite clay

The present study aims to explore the feasibility to apply a sequential process combining Fenton-like and adsorption onto local Moroccan bentonite clay for the treatment of the stabilized landfill leachate of Fez City (Morocco). The stabilized landfill leachate was firstly treated using a homogenous Fenton-like (FL) process using FeCl3 as a catalyst source. The pretreatment of landfill leachate using the FL process was performed under the optimal conditions: [Fe3+] = 250 mg L-1, [H2O2] = 1,000 mg L-1, pH = 3, and contact time = 30 min, then the pretreated and neutralized leach-ate was treated by adsorption process on natural bentonite clay using the optimal mass 5 g L-1 and pH = 7. The experimental data of adsorption kinetic were well fitted to the pseudo-second-order model, while the isotherms data were in good correlation with the Langmuir model. The Fenton-like process reduced the chemical oxidation demand (COD) by 72% and the adsorption process enhanced further the COD removal efficiency to 85%. These findings represent a further contribution towards developing a promising technology for landfill leachate treatment.