SUMMARY: The treatment and disposal of some liquid wastes generated from a variety of
agricultural, industrial and similar activities have become a serious problem in several areas
around the world. Even in situations where the liquid effluents are managed by conventional
wastewater treatment methods, severe limitations on discharges of process byproducts (residues)
are being placed on owners and operators of the facilities due to regulatory constraints, depth of
groundwater, distance to an acceptable discharge point and other reasons. Generally, these liquid
effluents are managed by conventional wastewater treatment methods, reverse osmosis or
evaporation. Common approaches to evaporation include thermal, vacuum and solar methods.
An innovative and cost-effective process has been developed called an oxidation and
isoenthalpic evaporation system for the treatment of leachate and other liquid wastes. The
system essentially consists of two main processes: oxidation and evaporation. In the oxidation
step, the leachate is sufficiently treated for the control of odors. Evaporation of the clarified
liquid yields a substantial reduction of liquid volume and decreases operational costs. In the
system, forced air is used to oxygenate and evaporate the liquid. A series of tests were conducted
at a landfill site in the Veneto Region, Italy to assess the performance of the evaporative system.
