Aluminum accumulation in treatment using submerged membrane electro-bioreactor of young landfill leachate: Statistical analysis

Abstract

Herein, landfill leachate containing high amount of organic matter, which is quite difficult to treat, was first treated using the new submerged membrane electro-bioreactor (SMEBR) system. Aluminum (Al) electrode was used for the treatment of leachate in the SMEBR and Al accumulation was detected. This study aims to examine Al accumulation in the treatment of leachate with high organic content in the SMEBR system. The Al values obtained were plotted on a graph using MS Excel, and Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine whether there is a statistical difference between the observed Al values. Also, correlations between Al accumulations and conductivity and TOC in SMEBR and SMBR were evaluated. Resultantly, it was found that relationship between Al and conductivity is very weak, correlation between Al and TOC% is a weak-moderate, the Al accumulation in the SEMBR has a linear relationship with time and there is a very strong correlation between the two variables (R2= 0.7591). Its correlation with time in the SMBR is moderate (R2= 0.3316). MS Excel 2016 and Minitab 16.0 programs were utilized in the statistical analyses.