An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Recycled Coconut Fiber and Rice Husk as Filter Media for Wastewater Treatment
Md. Zahur-Uz-Zaman
Office of the Chief Engineer, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh.
Nishat Anjum
Office of the Executive Engineer, Local Government Engineering Department, Khulna, Bangladesh.
Sayket Dey
Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Bangladesh.
Hossain Mohammad Zakir *
Department of Chemical Engineering, Z.H. Sikder University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The most vitally significant ingredient that all life on earth needs in order to survive is water. The global rate of wastewater discharge is rising quickly in tandem with population growth. As a result, wastewater treatment is a viable option to take into account for increased water demands. This investigation's primary objectives are to examine the contaminants found in wastewater and assess the efficiency of filtering collected wastewater using a mixture of coconut fibers, rice husks, sand, and stone chips. The untreated wastewater was gathered from KUET's six separate residence halls in Bangladesh. Inflow water and outflow water from filter media were used to measure a number of wastewater quality characteristics for the samples that were collected. Physical and chemical tests such as those for suspended particles, pH, turbidity, total coliform, and fecal coliform are among the factors examined in this study. Both coconut fiber and rice husk have been found to be useful as filter medium for the removal of contaminants present in wastewater. Because coconut fiber has a large number of micro pores with a standard surface area, it eliminates fungus and rice husk functions as an adsorbent for pollutants in wastewater.
Keywords: Wastewater treatment, turbidity, coconut fiber, rice husk, filter media, chemical oxygen demand