Chengdu Landfill Leachate Treatment: Ammonia from 850 to 4 mg/L in 26 Hours

Results at a glance

Metric	Before	After
Leachate ammonia	850 mg/L	4 mg/L (over 99% lower)
Ammonia at 10 hours	850 mg/L	60 mg/L (93% lower)
Time to 4 mg/L	n/a	26 hours
Odor	Severe	Sharply reduced

The problem

A rural landfill in Chengdu, China was treating high-strength leachate with ammonia concentrations reaching 850 mg/L. The elevated ammonia generated severe odors, suppressed biological treatability of the leachate, and made it difficult to stabilize the wastewater for downstream handling or compliant discharge. Conventional landfill leachate treatment approaches were insufficient to rapidly reduce ammonia and odor levels under these high-strength conditions, and the operator needed an aggressive bioaugmentation program capable of bringing ammonia under control quickly. The trial evaluated whether Ammonia Treat (AM), a high-CFU heterotrophic ammonia-reducing bacteria blend, could deliver fast, sustained ammonia removal in high-strength landfill leachate where conventional biological treatment had failed.

Before, during, and after

After
Ammonia Treat (AM) powder was applied directly to the landfill leachate with proper aeration to support biological activity, and the high-CFU ammonia-reducing bacteria rapidly established and began consuming ammonia in the leachate matrix. Within 10 hours, ammonia levels dropped from 850 mg/L to 60 mg/L, a 93% reduction, dramatically improving treatability and reducing odor intensity at the leachate pond. After 26 hours, ammonia was further reduced to 4 mg/L, a total reduction of more than 99% from the starting concentration, demonstrating fast and effective biological ammonia removal under high-strength landfill leachate conditions. For landfill operators, leachate treatment plants, and waste management facilities dealing with high-ammonia leachate, persistent odors, and suppressed biological treatability, this case demonstrates what targeted heterotrophic bioaugmentation can deliver in hours rather than days.

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Product used in this trial

Ammonia Treat (AM)

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