Potential of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Effects of Biochar Type, Physical Properties and Operating Conditions

Perez-Mercado, Luis Fernando; Lalander, Cecilia; Berger, Christina; Dalahmeh, Sahar

doi:10.3390/w10121835

Cited by 26 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Accordingly, no significant effect of the assumed higher adsorption capacity of bacteria on biochar could be observed over the whole experimental period of 70 days. Due to the high OLR of the AnBFs, which was notably higher than in comparable studies 7,8,18,19 , it can be assumed that the adsorption capacity of biochar was exhausted in an early stage of our experiment. This is supported by the fact that the main removal of E. coli in the AnBFs took place within the schmutzdecke.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Dalahmeh et al 18 used biochar filters as an on-site sewage treatment for the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater and found, particularly due to adsorption of persistent substances, a significant higher elimination of the investigated substances in biochar columns in comparison to the tested sand filters. Perez-Mercado et al 19 investigated the suitability of biochar filters for wastewater treatment and reported higher total nitrogen removal for biochar filters compared to sand filters. Mohanty and Boehm 20 treated stormwater with biochar augmented sand biofilters and found an improved retention of E. coli (~96%) in biochar columns compared to sand (~35%) and explained this result by higher pathogen adsorption rates on biochar particles.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Slow sand filtration of raw wastewater using biochar as an alternative filtration media

Kaetzl

Lübken

Nettmann

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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The efficiency of anaerobic biofilters (AnBF) as low-cost wastewater treatment systems was investigated. Miscanthus-biochar was used as filtration media and compared with sand as a common reference material. Raw sewage from a municipal wastewater treatment plant was stored in a sedimentation tank for two days to allow pre-settlement of wastewater particles. Subsequently, wastewater was treated by AnBFs at 22 °C room temperature at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.05 m•h −1 with an empty bed contact time of 14.4 h and a mean organic loading rate of 509 ± 173 g coD •m −3 •d −1 . Mean removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of biochar filters was with 74 ± 18% significantly higher than of sand filters (61 ± 12%). In contrast to sand filters with a mean reduction of 1.18 ± 0.31 log-units, E. coli removal through biochar was with 1.35 ± 0.27 log-units significantly higher and increased with experimental time. Main removal took place within the schmutzdecke, a biologically active dirt layer that develops simultaneously on the surface of filter beds. Since the E. coli contamination of both filter materials was equal, the higher removal efficiency of biochar filters is probably a result of an improved biodegradation within deeper zones of the filter bed. Overall, performance of biochar filters was better or equal compared to sand and have thus demonstrated the suitability of Miscanthus-biochar as filter media for wastewater treatment.www.nature.com/scientificreports www.nature.com/scientificreports/ degradation during storage time. To avoid sedimentation, the storage reservoir was continuously stirred (IKA RW 10 R, IKA-Werke, Staufen, Germany) and renewed every two days.The filters were fed by peristaltic pumps (Watson Marlow 205 S and Watson Marlow 323 S; Falmouth, United Kingdom) with a constant HLR of 0.05 m•h −1 . The mean organic surface load was 366 ± 125 g COD •m −2 •d −1 and 111 ± 37 g TOC •m −2 •d −1 , respectively. This resulted in a mean OLR of 509 ± 173 g COD •m −3 •d −1 and 154 ± 52 g TOC •m −3 •d −1 (Table 1). The experiment was performed at constant room temperature (22 ± 1 °C) with an empty bed contact time of 14.4 h.Sampling. Before the first sampling filters were operated with wastewater for six days. Samples of influent and effluent were taken in sterile 50 mL tubes and tested immediately for FIB E. coli and enterococci, temperature, pH, EC and turbidity as well as stored for further physico-chemical analysis, namely NH 4 -N, P tot , COD and TOC at −20 °C. To develop a removal profile over filter depth, water samples were taken at the sampling ports (b), (c), (e) and the effluent (f, Fig. 6) 50 days after filter activation and analyzed for FIB concentrations.After 70 days, one sand and one biochar filter have been dismantled to sample filter material at the filter depths 0-5 cm (direct below the schmutzdecke), 10-15 cm, 20-25 cm and 40-45 cm. Filter material was tested for FIB and prepared for scanning electron microscope (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscope (cLSM) analysis. Scientific RepoRtS |(2...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow sand filtration of raw wastewater using biochar as an alternative filtration media

Kaetzl

Lübken

Nettmann

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…Biochar may also be used in environmental rehabilitation such as remediation of saline soils and reclamation of abandoned mine land through its high capacity for contaminant immobilization (Feng et al, 2020;Guo et al, 2016a). Biochar filters are suitable for onsite wastewater treatment (Perez-Mercado et al, 2018;Dalahmeh et al, 2020). In "green" chemistry, biochar is used as an enzyme carrier or immobilizer to increase the enzymatic activity and thermal stability (Noritomi et al, 2019;Noritomi et al, 2018;Noritomi et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fourier Transform Infrared and Solid State 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Characterization of Defatted Cottonseed Meal-Based Biochars

He¹,

Guo²,

Fortier³

et al. 2021

MAS

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Conversion to biochar may be a value-added approach to recycle defatted cottonseed meal, a major byproduct from the cotton industry. In this work, complete slow pyrolysis at seven peak temperatures ranging from 300 to 600°C in batch reactors was implemented to process cottonseed meal into biochar products. Elemental analysis, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy and quantitative solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were applied to characterize raw meal and its derived biochar products. The biochar yield and organic C and total N recoveries decreased as the peak pyrolysis temperatures was elevated. However, most of the mineral elements including P in cottonseed meal were retained during pyrolysis and became enriched in biochar as a result of the decreased mass yield. The spectral data showed that pyrolysis removed the functional groups of biopolymers in cottonseed meal, producing highly aromatic structures in biochars. With increasing pyrolysis temperature, alkyl structures decreased progressively in the biochar products and became negligible at higher temperatures (550 and 600°C). Quantitative analysis of FT IR data revealed that the values of a simple 3-band (1800,1700, and 650 cm-1)-based R reading of the biochars were linearly related to the pyrolysis temperature, and showed strong correlations with decreasing aromaticity and increasing alkyl, aliphatic C-O/N and carbonyl signal intensities in the 13C NMR spectra. Therefore, the cheaper and faster FT-IR measurement could be used as a routine conversion indicator of pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass instead of the more expensive and time-consuming NMR spectroscopy.

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“…It is generally produced by pyrolysis from agricultural residues, manure or wood, and characterised by having a large surface area (200-1000 m 2 /g), low density and high porosity which makes it an efficient adsorbent and good biofilm carrier (Downie et al, 2009;Enaime et al, 2020). Due to its unique properties, there is growing interest in using it as a filter medium to enhance water and wastewater quality (Perez-Mercado et al, 2018). Many studies have also demonstrated its efficiency as an adsorbent and biofilm carrier for removing organic matter, surfactants, phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) from onsite wastewater and greywater treatment systems (Rasheed et al, 2017;Gwenzi, 2018;Ye et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicochemical characterization of biochars from Eucalyptus maiden Entandrophragma cylindricum (Liboyo), Milicia excelsa (Muvula.) and Ocotea michelsonie (licheche) used in Goma city, DR Congo for water treatment potentials

Muhiwa¹,

Fonteh²,

Njoyim³

et al. 2021

Int. J. Eng. Sci. Tech

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In recent years, research on biochar as an eco-friendly material and cost-effective means for water treatment, soil amendment and carbon sequestration has gained more attention due to the availability of feedstock, the simplicity of the preparation methods, and their enhanced physico-chemical properties. Given that pyrolysis temperature and resident time amongst other factors have significant effect on biochar’s pollutant removal efficacy, this study focused on the evaluation of some properties of biochars produced by pyrolysis (500 - 600 °C) from Entandrophragma cylindricum (ECB), Eucalyptus maiden (EMB), Milicia excelsa (MEB) and Ocotea michelsonie (OMB) sawdusts for their water treatment potentials by using standardized methods. Biomass generated from wood mill in the city of Goma (DR Congo) is valorised for the first time as potential water purifier. The highest yield was obtained from OMB (36.6%) which was found to be significantly greater that those of ECB and EMB (p<0.05). All the biochars had neutral to weakly alkaline pH (7.10-7.90), very high porosity (92-94%, with EMB having the highest value) and ash content between 9.40 and 18.40%, with the highest value attributed to OMB). Most physical and chemical characteristics of biochars varied significantly due to different wood species. Potential toxic elements were far belowenvironmental threshold values and exchangeable cations were equally detected in the biochars. The obtained biochars are therefore seen as good media for water treatment.

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Potential of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Effects of Biochar Type, Physical Properties and Operating Conditions

Cited by 26 publications

References 29 publications

Slow sand filtration of raw wastewater using biochar as an alternative filtration media

Slow sand filtration of raw wastewater using biochar as an alternative filtration media

Fourier Transform Infrared and Solid State 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Characterization of Defatted Cottonseed Meal-Based Biochars

Physicochemical characterization of biochars from Eucalyptus maiden Entandrophragma cylindricum (Liboyo), Milicia excelsa (Muvula.) and Ocotea michelsonie (licheche) used in Goma city, DR Congo for water treatment potentials

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