Treatment of Municipal Wastewater in a Fixed Aerated Bed: Use of Natural Fibrous Materials

Abstract

The municipal wastewater may be treated using a number of different types of fixed beds that have a larger surface area. Since the fibrous materials have such a large specific surface area, they are frequently considered to be the best option for greater microbiological support and treatment efficacy. In this research, natural fibre materials such as coir fibre and areca husk were investigated for their potential to function as fixed aerated beds for the treatment of municipal wastewater. During the experiment, variations in the chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), and total suspended solids (TSS) of the effluent were used to determine how well the aerated fixed bed work in treating the wastewater. The most efficient operating parameters for the successful treatment of wastewater were determined to be a contact period of 72 hrs, a filter medium depth of 5 cm, and a packing density of 10 kg/m3. The reductions in BOD, COD, TDS, and TSS for coir fibre are 55%, 58.8%, 57.8%, and 51.89%, respectively, whereas the reductions for areca husk are 38.3%, 37.78%, 31.76%, and 30.56%, respectively. In the course of this experiment, the coir fibre was discovered to be marginally more effective in comparison to the areca husk.