As we know within the global waste management strategy, the priority of treatment is prevention, minimization, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal. The discharge is considered as the last alternative, however, the disposal facilities represent an indispensable element in a global waste planning.
A landfill, better known as a controlled deposit, is a facility for storing waste on the surface or underground, these are linked to multiple environmental problems that begin at their initial location, continuing with their exploitation and control. The way in which landfills affect the environment has been fully studied and documented over the years, therefore today most of the industries have conditions of total safety for the environment, provided with constructive measures and adequate control to avoid the production of contaminants.
One of the main impacts produced by landfills is the contamination of groundwater and surface water caused by leachate, which can last about 20 or 30 years after its closure.
Recall that leachate is a liquid effluent released by the mass of waste as a result of the decomposition of organic and putrescible fractions, carrying immiscible liquids, small particles, microorganisms and viruses. The level of severity due to landfill contamination will be determined by various factors; the composition, quantity, design and characteristics of the treatment of the landfill, climate, morphology, permeability and lithology of the substrate, depth of the water body, age of the landfill, toxicity, bioaccumulation and persistence of some substances of the effluent, compaction and absorption capacity of the residue, pH, presence of microorganisms, range of water movements and methods of waste disposal. Don’t forget your organic and inorganic load or the chemical solubility of the waste,5 producing eutrophication of water and the decrease in the concentration of oxygen available to organisms, as well as significant amounts of arsenic, lead and cadmium, potential contaminants that will affect us considerably.
There are various measurement methods to identify the amount of organic matter in wastewater , we can mention the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and which we will focus on talking today, total organic carbon (TOC) .
The Shimadzu TOC-L total organic carbon analyzer series , which offers an optimal selection of features and performance options to meet the specific requirements of the total organic carbon tests in a wide range of aqueous samples. The TOC-L provides a range of truly comprehensive measurement and by the patented method of detecting catalytic oxidation combustion / NDIR 680 ° C helping for quality control , process control and extensive research research in the environmental industries, Chemical and pharmaceutical.
How does the catalytic oxidation method work ? Well, the catalytic combustion oxidation method completely oxidizes easily decomposed low molecular weight organic compounds, as well as insoluble and macromolecular organic compounds difficult to decompose. In addition, the temperature required for catalytic combustion is significantly lower than that required for combustion without catalyst, which increases the life of the combustion tube and minimizes the effect of high salt content on the samples.