Talk:Leachate

Article introduction

I refer to the liquid that comes from my "worm farm" daily as lechate. I think the term has been "hijacked" and is not representative of what lechate is in a modern sense - most of this entry sounds like it was written by somebody with a 1970s style. Lechate can be good - or bad. I like to think of it as good, at least with regard to farming, composting and vermiculture. This entry seems outdated to me and as such it might mislead readers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.193.52.225 (talk) 09:42, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

The leachate is not necessarily generated only when garbage is compacted. I also think that the first sentences of the article need to be rewritten. --Victor787 08:13, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

This article is also very specific to landfill leachate. Leachate is a much broader term that encompasses much more than just landfills. --Mas-wiki (talk) 15:09, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

As this article currently stands, it is misleading and erroneous - basically, wrong. As was stated over two years ago, landfills may produce leachate (not all do btw), but leachate is not a landfill specific term, result, or substance. Max Maxmanta (talk) 18:03, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

OK - so why not do something about it ?  Velela  ^{Velela Talk}   19:13, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Because A) I'm New. and B) I'm well educated on the subject (I'm a CEM) and was told to avoid "expert" contribution. So, I'm getting used to the place first and figuring out what I should and shouldn't do.Maxmanta (talk) 20:19, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

I'll buy that. And I have also tried to fix it up a bit to be more general - see what you think ?  Velela  ^{Velela Talk}   20:36, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Fair enough and good effort, but the truth is, it really needs to have a title change (Like Leachate (Environmental Science) or Leachate (Landfill)) The problem is, leachate can be just about anything. Tea, for example, is a leachate (the drink, not the leaf). The term is used in Mineralogy, Geochemistry, chemistry, mining, petroleum, general geology, hydrology and likely in other sciences like biology. A leachate is simply the solution that results from water:rock (or water:solid) interactions. I suspect that the reason it's been applied how it is here, is because entities like the EPA tend to prescribe terms to things and imply they are exclusive or specific. Still, at least it reads better now.Maxmanta (talk) 20:55, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

Generation of Leachate

I find the claim that landfills can generate anywhere from 0.2 to 10 gallons of leachate a day extremely tenuous. First of all, it's not cited. Secondly, I would think that this number should be a function of the volume of the landfill as well as the amount of precipitation that falls on it, so presumably it could vary from 0 to infinite. A qualifying phrase like "on average" or "typically" would help.

Overall, I think the article needs grammar and structure work as well as more citations. As it stands it reads like it was written by an activist trying to scare the public. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.109.82.196 (talk) 00:00, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

Leachate comes from more than just landfills

If one looks at the White Sands near Alamogordo, NM one would be looking at the results of the leaching out of gypsum from the surrounding mountains. The leachate is formed from rain at higher levels percolating through the rock and soil of the surrounding area, draining into the White Sands basin and evaporating. In no way is this leachate the product of a landfill

From the online Merriam Webster Dictionary

Leachate is “: a solution or product obtained by leaching” Leaching is from the main entry of the verb leach below

Main Entry: 2leach Pronunciation: 'lEch Function: verb Etymology: leach vessel through which water is passed to extract lye transitive verb 1 : to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid <leach out alkali from ashes> 2 : to subject to the action of percolating liquid (as water) in order to separate the soluble components 3 a : to remove (nutritive or harmful elements) from soil by percolation b : to draw out or remove as if by percolation <all meaning has been leached from my life> intransitive verb : to pass out or through by percolation

Therefore, the entry should be titled “Landfill Leachate” or “Leachate from Landfills” since leachate is not confined to substances leached from landfills

General definition & examples

More generally, leaching is the process of a solute migrating from a medium of higher to a more mobile medium (solvent) with a lower solute concentration. (See thermo-dynamics of chemical concentrations.)
Commonly, the term leachate refers to the migrating substance, or the solution (in the medium) containing the substance (usually the medium of lower concentration or the more mobile).
This can be between immiscible solids, liquids, or even gasses, and in either direction.
Examples:
. A cigarette filter leaches some contaminants from the smoke stream, producing a solid leachate which can then be tossed or left for children to chew.
. Rainwater falls gently on a mercury laced mine dump, percolates down thru the dump piles, dissolving some of the metal from the tailings, then migrating thru the soil, contaminating it and the plants grown there, then into the stream, to poison the rest of the down-stream ecosystems & populations. Leachate can refer to the contaminated water & soil, or the mercury itself, as it moves from medium to medium (water, soil, & lifeforms).
. The 'BP-gulf of Mexico' crude oil eruption consists of many hundreds of complex hydrocarbons and petrochemicals. As the mass of crude pools at the surface or on the sea bed, or atomizes in finely divided underwater clouds of tar droplets, in relatively insoluble masses. The more volatile or soluble components slowly migrate out of the tar mass, into the less contaminated sea water. These leachates are not natural to the gulf ecosystem in such massive amounts, so they disrupt (poison) the sea water ecology. (Aside: When/If the concentrations of any particular component become equal in each medium (tar & water), net migration of that component drops to zero(same concentration is in each medium), until more fresh water or crude comes to unbalance the environment, and leaching resumes again.)
Wikidity (talk) 01:33, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Addition of Saltworks promotional text

Mitchfrank12 has added material relating to a methodology which seems at face value to be at best a limited pilot scheme and at worst applied to a single site but using text implying that this is the new norm in leachate treatment. I disagree , principally because there are no references to support any such claims other than a single reference for a pilot scheme at a single US site. On this basis I don't believe the text should be retained but I would seek the views of others.  Velella  ^{Velella Talk}   21:24, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

I agree with your concerns, Velella - this seems to be a re-write to promote a particular leachate treatment technoloy, rather than making edits of an encyclopedic nature. The user has also created the draft of another page which is about a related technology and contains some of his case studies as references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:Ion_Exchange_Membranes . I think these changes to the page on leachate need to be challenged and probably removed or significantly "toned down". EvM-Susana (talk) 22:38, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Rename article to "landfill leachate"?

Almost the entire article is about landfill leachate. I am suggesting we should have a short page on leachate (a bit like a disambiguation page or content fork) and then have a separate page on "landfill leachate" where 95% of the content of this page would be moved to. EvM-Susana (talk) 21:07, 21 August 2015 (UTC)