Irradiation of Filter Media for Wastewater Treatment in Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor Systems
Description
In the Philippines, clean water shortage poses a major threat to Filipinos and is primarily caused by limited infrastructure and resources. This hinders effective wastewater management, mainly in rural and densely populated parts of the country. The Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) has been advocated as a decentralized biological treatment technology meant for wastewater treatment that retains the benefits such as small size, high treatment capacity, and operational flexibility. Still, present MBBR systems have restrictions tied to energy consumption and insufficient biofilm development on filter media. This study introduced surface modification through different methods of irradiation of filter media to improve the hydrophilicity and surface characteristics of the substratum. This study also integrated the development of a small-scale MBBR system that replicates a real-life application of the treatment plant. It was observed that irradiated filter media were found to have an increased surface roughness and hydrophilicity, resulting in a more stable biofilm growth compared to the control group. This physical modification shows a significant difference in the removal of organic and nutrient contaminants across BOD, TSS, TN, and TP. Every irradiated treatment showed significant wastewater parameter reduction from raw untreated wastewater, as opposed to the unirradiated control.
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- Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and DevelopmentPhilippinesGrant ID: PMIS No. 1212203
- Philippine Nuclear Research Institute