CUT Membrane Technology demonstrates successful landfill leachate water treatment using their T-CUT tubular modules as part of a sidestream MBR

Landfill leachate water is rainwater that has drained through a landfill and is one of the most difficult types of wastewater to treat. A variety of chemical compounds are dissolved in the water when the landfill bodies enter the water and the water is also swollen with all types of particles. The amount and composition of the leachate water from every landfill is different. Other variables include climatic conditions such as the amount of rainwater and the degree of evaporation possible as well as seasonal fluctuations. Leachate water always has high organic contamination as well as a high toxic load of salt and heavy metals to reckon with, which is a challenge for any membrane plant.

Since the start of 2015, CUT Membrane Technology, based in Erkrath, Germany, has offered a CUT tubular module especially developed for the treatment of landfill leachate water. Since June 2015, the T-CUT tubular module has been running with great success at two landfill leachate water treatment plants in Portugal.

Each of the installed T-CUT tubular modules handles approx. 12 m³/h of raw water and this generates around 3 m³/h of dischargeable permeate. The peak flux is 120 l/(m²·h) with a particle content of approx. 3.0 g/l.

The T-CUT tubular modules comprise PVDF and PES membranes. The special stability of the membranes, together with the ability to apply chemical cleaning, means that these T-CUT tubular modules can be used in challenging applications, e.g. for the preparation of chemical stripping baths used in the metal processing industry for separating oil / water and biomass / water.