MP’s Department of Engineering and Environmental Services has recently been contracted to provide a treatment plant for MSW landfill site leachates. This new contract contributes to enhancing our already-strong position in this market.

The JOCA engineering company, which was awarded the contract to construct the Caceres MSW Evaluation, Composting and Recycling Plant has entrusted to MP’s Department of Engineering and Environmental Services the implementation of the waste treatment systems.

In general, the leachate sector is characterised by high levels of contamination for several parameters, by wide variations in these parameters, and by the presence of some specific contaminants which require complex treatment. These aspects both complicate the treatment and reduce the possible reliable alternatives. The demonstrated effectiveness of the Biodestil® bio-distillation technology makes it very appropriate for treating highly contaminated waste.

The Biodestil® process uses a first stage of vacuum-forced evaporation in which the contaminants are reduced to a constant flow of bio-degradable  waste. This waste is then subjected to a second treatment using aerobic biological technology to bring the contamination parameters down to legally acceptable levels. In the case of landfill leachates, the Biodestil® process uses an intermediate stripping treatment to ensure that the high levels of nitrogen present in this type of waste are eliminated. In this case, a stabilisation/solidification section is also included to treat the concentrates generated in the evaporator.

The plant is designed to treat  1000 m3/ of leachates per year. This requires the smallest-capacity system that has been installed with this technology, to date, demonstrating the viability of this treatment for all ranges of flow.

Jesús Jiménez Rodriguez
Waste Department Manager