Closing the loop for a sustainable landfill leachate treatment: an experimental trial with horizontal and vertical phytotreatment using sunflowers

The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of landfill leachate phytotreatment by means of sunflowers. Two different irrigation systems were tested: vertical flow and horizontal subsurface flow, with or without effluent recirculation. The experiment showed good removal efficiencies for COD (η > 50%), nitrogen (η > 60%) and phosphorous (η > 90%). Leachate was successfully tested as an alternative fertilizer for plants, it did not inhibit biomass development