Recycled Concrete Aggregates as a Filter for Removal of Phosphorus in Synthetic Wastewater

Abstract

This paper assesses of recycled concrete aggregates as a filter for removal of phosphorus in synthetic wastewater. Recycled concrete aggregate used as a filter system emerged as an alternative technology for phosphorus removal. This can overcome the problem of construction site waste by converting the waste into something valuable products. Thus, this study aim to determine the percentage of Phosphorus removal by using two different size of Recycled Concrete Aggregate which is (5 mm to 10 mm) and (25 mm to 30 mm). A total of five vertical recycled concrete aggregate filter laboratory scale was design using recycled concrete aggregate and five different concentration of synthetic wastewater which is 10 – 50 mg/L was prepared. Samples were taken from the influent and effluent filters to be tested once a week, and analyzed to determine the value of pH and the percentage of Phosphorus removal (%). RCA was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) testing to determine chemical composition. Results shows that RCA is highly contained with Aluminium, Calcium and Magnesium elements that enhanced the phosphorus adsorption. The RCA with size 5 mm to 10 mm and synthetic wastewater 10 mg/L display high potential in removing Phosphorus with 99.54% removal at pH 9.77. The lower concentration of synthetic wastewater, smaller size of RCA and higher pH have slightly better Phosphorus removal efficiency. Thus, RCA has a potential in removing Phosphorus from synthetic wastewater.

Optimizing vertical flow aerated steel slag filter system with nitrifiers bacteria for nutrients' removal from domestic wastewater: a pilot study

“…These findings are inconsistent with previous studies which confirmed that the primary and secondary treatment processing of sewage wastewater is insufficient for removing nutrients. 5,6 Moreover, the results revealed that the wastewater generated from the wastewater treatment plant in the study area should be subjected to a treatment process to minimize the concentrations of the pollutants before the final disposal into the environment. Based on SEM analysis of the slime sample attached on the rock surface collected from the VFASSF, the nitrifying bacterial cells had rod, coccus and spherical shapes, as found previously 18,19 ( Fig.…”

“…4 Rock filter (RF) is an alternative natural treatment method for removing nutrients from wastewater. 5,6 The method is relatively simple, cost-effective and efficient in removing nutrients from large quantities of wastewater. 7 Moreover, the method is more applicable to treating wastewater from small communities owing to the simplicity of construction, low initial cost, and the potential for extremely low operation and maintenance costs and energy requirements.…”