VSEP Landfill leachate

Written on February 3, 2015

Landfills are used to contain and manage waste products and prevent them from harming the environment.  Modern day landfills are used as storage sites where the waste products are dumped and sealed to stop the spread of pollutants and harmful pathogens.

Landfill Leachate systems are in place because of the design of the landfill.  Landfills are designed to be like a shell, containing garbage by using a liner on the bottom made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) on top of compacted clay, geo-fabrics and other layers to prevent seepage into the ground and an upper HDPE layer on top to prevent additional water from entering the landfill and adding to the leachate and water contamination.  This non-permeable lining on the bottom causes a build-up of sewage from moisture (leachate), which is accumulated from trash products and rainwater.  Leachate is a liquid which builds up solutes and solid particles from passing through matter.  The problem we face with leachate is that the water settling on the bottom of the site increases hydraulic pressure on the liner and may tear the plastic lining causing leakage into the ground below and contaminating the ground water.  The waste water needs to be removed to prevent these leaks from forming.  Leachate removal systems provide us with a method of extracting the liquid and removing excess water from the site.

A leachate pond is set up near the site to collect contaminated water that can be tested and treated.  Most current processes to treat the water are slow and dependent on specific variables; biological treatment for example is affected by high heavy metal content.  VSEP (Vibratory Shear Enhanced Process) is a patented method by New Logic Research which is effective at removing contaminants from landfill waste water.  The VSEP filtration method works in a similar way to reverse osmosis (RO), using a vibrating membrane to filter minute solids.  Historically RO has not  been considered a very effective method of treatment until recent years where membrane technology has evolved to become much more versatile and capable on an industrial scale.

VSEP processes are simple and cost effective, not requiring the assistance from additional chemicals and each filtration device can process hundreds to thousands of litres of waste water every day.

Leachate and Groundwater applications the VSEP can be used for are:

• Acid mine drain
• Phosphate Cooling Pond Water
• Radioactive Groundwater
• Arsenic Removal
• Landfill Leachate
• Agricultural Run-off
• Produced Water from Oil Drilling

← Back to News