Overview
ARBOK PURI is a terminal technology for landfill leachate — a chemical-biological poison that filtration, membranes, and UV cannot neutralize because they only shift the toxicity into a concentrate. Using deep-vacuum evaporation, PURI separates water from all solutes and biological load by phase transition: the output meets drinking standards while every contaminant leaves as dry residue, not brine. There is no concentrate, nothing to truck or store downstream — the first truly terminal, zero-discharge leachate solution.
Applications
Primary use cases: municipal landfill leachate; rainy-season / snowmelt overflow control; remote landfill sites; full ZLD retrofit.
Industries and users: landfill operators, municipalities, hazardous-waste contractors.
Scale: self-contained modules, single site to multi-module cascades.
Operating Principle
Leachate enters a deep-vacuum chamber where water evaporates at ambient temperature; no contaminants enter the vapor phase. Vapor condenses to clean water; salts, organics, ammonium, metals, and microplastics remain as dry residue. Pathogens rupture under vacuum collapse — no UV, chlorine, or ozone. No membranes, filters, or reagents at any stage.
Limitations: dry-residue handling/offtake required; feed buffering for highly variable loads.
Key Parameters
Feedstock: leachate at COD 20 000–50 000 mg/L; BOD₅ up to 20 000 mg/L; NH₄⁺ up to 5 000 mg/L.
Output water: COD 2–5 mg/L, BOD₅ < 2 mg/L, NH₄⁺ = 0; no microplastics or dissolved metals.
Recovery: 85–95 % clean water, < 15 % dry residue.
Energy: 0.65–0.85 kWh per m³ (with latent-heat recycling). Biological kill: 100 %.
Architecture and Components
Deep-vacuum evaporation chamber; condensation/clean-water unit; dry-residue extraction; control system (PLC/automation). Self-contained, modular, scalable by unit count. No membranes, filters, or reagent facilities.
Advantages
Technical: no concentrate (terminates the toxicity loop); 100 % pathogen kill; drinking-grade output; no membranes/reagents.
Economic: eliminates concentrate hauling, storage, and landfill return; residue (ammonium salts) potentially valorizable.
Environmental: zero liquid discharge; on-site treatment prevents overflow crises.
Strategic: turns an unsolved liability into a closed, compliant process; critical during rain/snowmelt surges.
Integrations
Retrofits to existing landfill leachate ponds and ZLD infrastructure; SCADA/PLC ready; pairs with adjacent ARBOK vacuum platforms.
Deployment & Operation
Steps: leachate characterization → module sizing → on-site install → commissioning. Open-air, ambient temperature. Continuous, automated, minimal staffing.
TRL
Proposed TRL 5 — ⚠ confirm. The note claims TRL 6–7 ("field modules operational at select landfill testbeds"). With documented testbed sites and real-leachate runs, 6–7 holds; otherwise TRL 5 (validated in relevant environment) is the defensible claim. Confirm testbed evidence.
Market Potential
Every active landfill generates leachate; tightening discharge limits and overflow liability drive demand. Target: municipal and hazardous-waste operators in the EU, US, and water-stressed regions where leachate disposal is costly or banned.
Typical Project Economics
OPEX dominated by 0.65–0.85 kWh/m³ energy; no consumables. Savings from eliminated concentrate hauling/storage and avoided fines; residue offtake optional upside. (Site-specific CAPEX/payback to be modelled.)
Risk Factors
Dry-residue classification/offtake per jurisdiction; conservative landfill operators; needs documented field reference; feed variability management.
Related Technologies
ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking) · ARBOK MedZWD · ARBOK-CHLORIDE · Vacuum Osmosis