AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFICIENCY OF FILTER MATERIALS FOR PHOSPHATE REMOVAL FROM WASTEWATER
Phosphorus is one of the most important nutrients, which significantly influences the extraordinary growth of algae. Consequently, this leads to eutrophication of aquatic life. Eutrophication of water bodies due to phosphorus coming from wastewater is a serious problem. Therefore, additional work on many wastewater treatment plants is required in order to meet the required standards, particularly in relation to nutrient removal. Recently, continuous upflow filters CoUFs have been found to be a suitable technology for upgrading or expanding the wastewater treatment plants. On the other hand, investigation of different sorts of low-cost materials has been shown to be an attractive solution as phosphate sorbent materials PSMs, which represents a sustainable solution based on economical and environmental factors. This PhD study seeks to determine materials that are capable of removing phosphate from wastewater at tertiary treatment within a short time when they are packed in CoUFs. In order to select the suitable PSMs a comprehensive study has been conducted to describe their physical and chemical characteristics, affinity to retain orthophosphate (phosphate) and bonding time. This work was carried out through subjecting these materials to examinations such as scanning electron microscopy SEM and X-ray fluorescence analysis XRF to identify their characteristics, and conducting a batch test and constructing a lab-scale upflow filter to investigate the filter materials’ affinity to phosphate. Based on the phosphate removal efficiency and characteristics of selected materials an innovative and sustainable coating technology has been proposed to introduce a new type of filter material capable of removing phosphate effectively. Filtration materials coated with metallic oxides are presented as a good method for phosphate sorption. However, most of the researchers utilize chemicals as a source of metallic oxides and heating process to set the chemicals over the filtration materials. In this study, the method of creating new filter media involves coating a solid material via waste materials containing metallic oxides; the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was utilized as a binder for the mixture materials. Water is the factor which is responsible for activating the OPC. All factors have been subjected to an optimization process. The results revealed that the limestone particles coated by furnace bottom ash (FBA) indicated a high capacity for phosphate sorption and possibility of regenerating their efficiency. In conclusion, this study introduces a new approach regarding creating and developing the characteristics of the filter media which fit the sustainability requirements.
GE Environmental Sciences, TC Hydraulic engineering. Ocean engineering
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