Design of a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) to Address Problems of the Leachate Treatment Plant (LTP) at Banyuroto Landfill

Abstract

The Leachate Treatment Plant (LTP) at Banyuroto Landfill was constructed as an effort to control environmental pollution; however, its performance has not yet fully complied with the applicable effluent standards. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the existing LTP and to formulate an alternative development of a leachate treatment system based on a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR). The leachate flow rate was estimated using the Thornthwaite method based on climatic water balance, while leachate quality was evaluated by comparing laboratory analysis results with the effluent standards stipulated in Regulation of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia No. 59 of 2016.

The evaluation results indicate that several key pollutant parameters, particularly organic matter and nitrogen compounds, still exceeded the effluent standards at the outlet of the LTP. Technical evaluation shows that limitations in capacity and process configuration of the existing treatment units hinder effective system optimization. Based on the analysis of leachate flow rate and pollutant loading, an MBBR-based treatment system is recommended as a replacement unit due to its higher process stability under fluctuating loads and better technical efficiency.

Keywords: leachate; leachate treatment plant; MBBR; effluent standard; Banyuroto landfill