AMX®

Landfill Leachate Treatment

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Powered by AMX®: Tackling Landfill Leachate with Innovation

Landfill leachate is one of the most difficult wastewater to treat. As landfills age, the C/N ratio (carbon to nitrogen) in leachate decreases, with ammonia concentrations exceeding 1,600 mg/L, and organic carbon levels too low to support traditional denitrification processes. This makes conventional MLE (Modified Ludzack-Ettinger) processes energy intensive and costly一requiring large amounts of aeration and external carbon sources like methanol.

Nitrogen Removal for High-Strength Leachate

Incheon, South Korea

At Tomorrow Water, we’re redefining how high-strength landfill leachate is treated. Using our advanced AMX® Process—successfully piloted at Korea’s Sudokwon Landfill—we’ve demonstrated reliable nitrogen removal under extreme wastewater conditions, without the need for external carbon or excessive energy input.

  • Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN): 1,725 mg/L

  • Ammonium (NH4+-N): 1,662

  • C/N Ratio: 1.4

  • Salinity: 1.6%

Influent Characteristics

Tomorrow Water’s Solution

Installed as a pilot, the AMX® system went to work. Built on two-stage partial nitritation and Anammox principles, it offered a low-energy, carbon-free path to nitrogen removal. Even under high salinity condition (1.6%), it thrived.

Pilot Results

Despite challenging wastewater characteristics, the AMX® pilot delivered outstanding results:

  • Ammonia loading: 1,662 mg/L

  • Salinity: 1.6%

  • Total Inorganic Nitrogen removal: 91.1%
    Effluent TIN: < 150 mg/L
    Max nitrogen loading: 1.68 kgN/m°/day

  • Carbon savings: Eliminated methanol use

  • Energy savings: 5 billion KRW/year (~$3.5 million USD) potential

Key Takeaway

The Tomorrow Water AMX® pilot at the Sudokwon Landfill demonstrated exceptional performance in treating high-strength, low C/N ratio landfill leachate. It achieved over 91% total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal, consistently meeting strict effluent standards even with influent ammonia levels exceeding 1,600 mg/L. Compared to the traditional MLE process, the AMX® system reduced aeration energy by over 51%, eliminated the need for external carbon sources such as methanol, and cut sludge production by nearly 94%. Additionally, it proved highly adaptable to harsh wastewater conditions, operating reliably in high-salinity (up to 1.6%) and low-carbon environments without pretreatment or dilution.

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