Substance flow analysis on the leachate DOM molecules along five typical membrane advanced treatment processes

• DOM chemodiversity in leachate concentrates was compared across five typical treatment processes. • NF concentrated 45.1%–98.5% of leachate DOM (L-DOM) with poor biodegradability. • DTRO retained most of DOM in RO concentrates, less effective on more mature leachate. • Secondary membrane system intercepted NFC L-DOM mainly based on volume reduction. The processes combining biological treatment with membrane separation technologies have been widely adopted for leachate treatment. However, dissolved organic matter (DOM) of leachate membrane concentrates generated from various membrane separation technologies has not been systematically investigated in field scale. Therefore, substance flow analysis based on DOM molecular information of leachate membrane concentrates from primary membrane systems (i.e. nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO)) and secondary membrane systems (i.e. disk-tube reverse osmosis (DTRO) and humic substance filtration system (HSF)) in five engineering-scale leachate treatment facilities, obtained via ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry, was given and simultaneously compared. In NF concentrates (NFC), 45.1%–98.5% of DOM originated from raw leachate (L-DOM) was concentrated, showing poor biodegradability. The L-DOM interception characteristics of NFC-fed HSF were mainly based on volume reduction but concentration effect. L-DOM in RO concentrates (ROC) showed a higher proportion of peak intensity reduced components, accounting for 50.3%–96.8%, and organic composition changes were more dependent on water quality characteristics than membrane types. ROC-fed DTRO intercepted 49.3%–72.6% of L-DOM, but DTRO may be less effective at intercepting DOM molecules in landfill leachate with higher oxidation levels. Considering risks from feasible treatment technologies, the difficulty for their treatment followed the order of DTRO concentrates > ROC > NFC. This study suggests that ROC-fed DTRO need to be controlled to avoid amplifying the treatment difficulty. Besides, treatment technologies for RO and DTRO concentrates with low-concentrated but refractory DOM and high salts should be explored.