Landfills are a source of groundwater pollution in Gaza Strip. This study focused on Deir Al Balah landfill, which is a unique sanitary landfill site in Gaza Strip (i.e., it has a lining system and a leachate recirculation system). The objective of this article is to assess the generated leachate quantity and percolation to the groundwater aquifer at a specific site, using the approaches of (i) the hydrologic evaluation of landfill performance model (HELP) and (ii) the water balance method (WBM). The results show that when using the HELP model, the average volume of leachate discharged from Deir Al Balah landfill during the period 1997 to 2007 was around, 6800 m3/year. Meanwhile, the average volume of leachate percolated through the clay layer was 550 m3/year, which represents around 8% of the generated leachate. Meanwhile, the WBM indicated that the average volume of leachate discharged from Deir Al Balah landfill during the same period was around 7660 m3/year--about half of which comes from the moisture content of the waste, while the remainder comes from the infiltration of precipitation and re-circulated leachate. Therefore, the estimated quantity of leachate to groundwater by these two methods was very close. However, compared with the measured leachate quantity, these results were overestimated and indicated a dangerous threat to the groundwater aquifer, as there was no separation between municipal, hazardous and industrial wastes, in the area.
Landfills are one of the main point sources of groundwater pollution. This research mainly aims to assess the risk of nitrate [Formula: see text] transport from the unlined landfill to subsurface layers and groundwater using experimental results and the SESOIL model. Samples from 12 groundwater wells downstream of the landfill were collected and analyzed in 2008, 21 years after the landfill construction. The average [Formula: see text] concentration in the wells was 54 mg/L, slightly higher than the World Health Organization ([Formula: see text] 50 mg/L) standards. SESOIL model was used to predict the [Formula: see text] concentration at the bottom of the unsaturated zone. Results indicated that the current mean [Formula: see text] concentration at the bottom of the unsaturated zone is 75 mg/L. the model predicted that the level of NO3 will increased up to 325 mg/L within 30 years. Accordingly, the [Formula: see text] concentration in groundwater wells near the landfill area is expected to gradually increase with time. Although the current risk associated with the [Formula: see text] level might not be harm to adults, however, it might pose severe risks to both adults and infants in the near future due to [Formula: see text] leaching. Urgent mitigation measures such as final cell cover (cap), lining system and vertical expansion should be considered at the landfill to protect the public health in the area.
Although landfilling is still the most suitable method for solid waste disposal, generation of large quantity of leachate is still considered as one of the main environmental problem. Efficient treatment of leachate is required prior to final discharge. Persulfate (S2O82-) recently used for leachate oxidation, the oxidation potential of persulfate can be improved by activate and initiate sulfate radical. The current data aimed to evaluate the performance of utilizing Al2SO4 reagent for activation of persulfate to treat landfill leachate. The data on chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, and NH3-H removals at different setting of the persulfate, Al2SO4 dosages, pH, and reaction time were collected using a central composite design (CCD) were measured to identify the optimum operating conditions. A total of 30 experiments were performed, the optimum conditions for S2O82-/Al2SO4 oxidation process was obtained. Quadratic models for chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, and NH3-H removals were significant with p-value