The Use of Natural Filter Media Added with Peat Soil for Household Greywater Treatment

Greywater is wastewater that produces 50-80% of overall water consumption in a house. In many village houses of Malaysia, the household greywater that comes from kitchen, laundry, bathroom and sinks is usually untreated and discharged directly into streams or rivers. This phenomenon escalates the pollution among Malaysian rivers. This study examines the effects of household greywater treated with locally available peat soil. This study was performed by using a two-stage filter media (i) pre-treatment (gravel + sand) (ii) peat based (peat + charcoal + gravel). Effects of filtration on the peat soil were examined via the one-dimensional consolidation test and X-Ray Fluorescence Test (XRF). Removal efficiency of the greywater effluent was found to be TSS- 81%, BOD- 54%, COD – 52% and AN - 87%. pH of the greywater was improved from acidic (4.6) to neutral (6.9). Quality of the treated greywater complied with the limits of the Malaysian Standard (Standard B) for wastewater effluent discharge. The consolidation test was affected and became slower. XRF test indicates that peat soil has an increased amount of the inorganic content of Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) and Aluminium Oxide (Al2O3) associated with the absorption of certain elements in greywater. The peat based filter resulted in a substantial removal of pollutants. Further study is needed to look in depth the mechanism of adsorption and its applicability in a large scale processes.Keywords- greywater, peat soil, filter media, sand, gravel, charcoa

Energy Recovery from Polyethylene Terephthalate(PET) Recycling Process

Solid waste generation especially from plastics increase every year due to the current consumption habit in the society. The improper disposal of plastics has been a major concern to environment as they are not easily degradable. In this study, energy derived from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle recycling process were studied. Raw and used PET samples were produced by using injection moulding machine. The amount of energy recovered upon production was calculated by using Universal Testing Machine. The effect of temperature and pressure during production on raw and used PET plastics were measured. Temperature at 260 oC and 7 Mpa pressure gave highest energy production. The results of raw and used PET samples exhibit comparable amount of energy 0.8J and 2.044 x 10-4MJ/Kg - 2.0635 x 10-4MJ/Kg respectively. Generally, used PET (260oC and 6 Mpa) were to be reprocessed to regain the significant energy production that are lost upon discarding. Mechanical tests were conducted on the PET and were compared with HDPE to study the temperature effect on the mechanical properties. PET show decrement of average hardness value 8.99 % after filled with hot water at 100 ºC. The increased of hot water filling temperature subsequently reduced the tensile strength and hardness value for both HDPE and PET. From this experiment, it is expected that energy recovery derived through the PET recycling can be optimized as part of an integrated waste management strategy

Nutrient recovery from domestic effluent using an 2 indigenous strain of scenedesmus sp.

The performance of a Scenedesmus sp. in the phycoremediation of domestic 6 secondary effluents and the high-quality production of the effluents for safe 7 disposal are investigated in the current work. An indigenous strain of a 8 Scenedesmus sp. is obtained from a sludge thickness basin at a wastewater 9 treatment plant. The characteristics of this microalgae are identified using a 10 molecular analysis based on 18S ribosomal RNA sequences. The phycoremedia11 tion process is conducted in a photoreactor tank (5 L) with five different 12 concentrations of a Scenedesmus sp. (between 10 5 and 10 6 cells mL � 1 ). The 13 reactors are then placed outdoors (exposed to natural environmental conditions) 14 for 8 days. The Scenedesmus sp. had the ability to remove 91.86%, 98.15%, and 15 93.11% of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and total organic carbon 16 (TOC), respectively, and reduce biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical 17 oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solid (TSS) by 86.5%, 69.9%, and 18 76%, respectively, at a concentration of 10 6 cells mL � 1 . Moreover, the increase in 19 the pH value during microalgae activity contributed to the increases in nutrients 20 and characteristics percentage removal. The treated secondary effluents gener21 ated from the phycoremediation process after 8 days met the EQA 1974 22 (Regulation 2009) sewage sludge (standard A) in terms of TN and TP but is still 23 not under the permissible limits for BOD, COD, and TSS. In conclusion, an 24 indigenous Scenedesmus sp. was efficient in enhancing the quality of secondary 25 wastewater to meet the standards required for reuse or safe disposal

Characteristics of chicken slaughterhouse wastewater

The chicken slaughterhouse wastewater is a class of wastewater, which is heavily polluted with organic matters including proteins, blood residues, fats and lard. Therefore, the direct discharged of untreated chicken slaughterhouse wastewater into the environment is associated with the occurrence of eutrophication phenomenon. In the present study, the characteristics of chicken slaughterhouse wastewater were investigated to ascertain the role of these wastes in the adverse effect on the environment and natural water system. The parameter tested included biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total organic carbon (TOC), orthophosphate (PO4 3-), temperature and pH. The results revealed available high concentrations of BOD (1,341 - 1,821 ± 242.7 mg L1 ), COD (3,154.19 - 7,719.3 ± 2,282.69 mg L-1), TSS (377.67 - 5,462 ± 2,696.1 mg L-1) which have exceeded the EQA1974 standard limits for disposal of wastewater into the environment. The concentrations of TN (162.6 -563.8 ± 215 mg L-1) and PO4 3- (7.047 - 17.111 ± 4.25 mg L-1) were within the range required for microalgae growth which confirm their role in the occurrence of eutrophication phenomenon. It can be concluded that the direct discharge of chicken slaughterhouse wastewater contributes negatively on the environmental biodiversity and thus they should be subjected for an effective treated before the final disposal

Scenedesmus biomass productivity and nutrient removal from wet market wastewater, a bio-kinetic study

The current study aims to investigate the production of microalgae biomass as a function for different wet market wastewater ratios (10, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) and Scenedesmus sp. initial concentrations (104 , 105 , 106 , 107 cells/mL) through the phycoremediation process. The biomass production, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and total organic compounds (TOC) were determined daily. The pseudo-first order kinetic model was used to measure the potential of Scendesmus sp. in removing nutrients while the Verhulst logistic kinetic model was used to study the growth kinetic. The study revealed that the maximum productivity of Scenedesmus sp. biomass was recorded with 106 cells/mL of the initial concentration in 50% wet market wastewater (98.54 mg/L/day), and the highest removal of TP, TN, and TOC was obtained (85, 90 and 65% respectively). Total protein and lipid contents in the biomass yield produced in the wet market wastewater were more than that in the biomass produced in the BBM (41.7 vs. 37.4 and 23.2 vs. 19.2%, respectively). The results of GC–MS confirmed detection of 44 compounds in the biomass from the wet market wastewater compared to four compounds in the BBM. These compounds have several applications in pharmaceutical and personal care products, chemical industry and antimicrobial activity. These findings indicated the applicability of wet market wastewater as a production medium for microalgae biomass

Phytoremediation efficiencies of Spirodela polyrhiza and Brassica oleracea in removing nutrients from treated sewage effluent

The study investigates the capacity of phytoremediation as a post-treatment step for the nutrientrich- treated sewage effluent from Saga City sewage treatment plant, Saga, Japan. Phytoremediation in the context of this study is the removal of nutrients such as ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and phosphorus from the nutrient-rich-treated sewage effluent by plants. In this study, Spirodela polyrhiza (S. polyrhiza) and Brassica oleracea (B. oleracea) were used to phytoremediate the treated sewage effluent collected from the Saga City Sewage Treatment Plant under laboratory scale. Plants were grown in polypropylene planter box supplied with 8,000 mL treated sewage effluent under indoor environment and full water retention throughout the experimental studies. The removal efficiency and daily absorption of nutrients by phytoremediation plants were determined. It was found that the most optimal removal efficiency and average daily nutrient removal rate by S. polyrhiza throughout the experiment were 92.42% ± 1.29% or 15.4 mg/L/d for ammoniacal nitrogen achieved in day 1, 78.69% ± 10.31% or 2.68 mg/L/d for nitrate-nitrogen achieved in day 4, and 93.45% ± 3.26% or 0.51 mg/L/d for phosphorus in day 3 of an experiment. On the other hand, the removal efficiency and average daily nutrient removal rate by B. oleracea throughout the experiment gave a total of 8 d where 76.07% ± 10.38% or 1.68 mg/L/d for ammoniacal nitrogen, 78.38% ± 0.40% or 1.19 mg/L/d for nitrate-nitrogen and 67.40% ± 10.91% or 0.10 mg/L/d for phosphorus. The overall findings demonstrated that phytoremediation by S. polyrhiza was far more effective in removing nutrients from the nutrient-rich-treated sewage effluent compared to B. oleracea. The significance of the study includes reducing the possibility of eutrophication outbreak caused by the disposal of treated sewage effluent, advocating less dependency on global demand for non-renewable phosphorus resources in the agriculture sector, and solving food demand due to the increasing world population

Rainwater harvesting study at Masjid Jamek Riyahdus Solihin, Pintas Puding, Batu Pahat Johor Malaysia

Harvesting rainwater contribute towards a sustainable living. It eliminate the wastage and reduce the dependency of potable water. The demand of potable water increases in accordance to the population. Rainwater harvesting is capable to combat water crisis and serves as an alternative water resources during water shortage. The present study proposed a rainwater harvesting system for the mosque and obtain the rainfall amount at study area. The method used for designing the rainwater harvesting system is referred to MSMA 2nd Edition. The system is consists of downpipe filter (4"/ Ø150 mm), Eaves gutter (16, 000 mm²) first flush diverter 150 mm (63 liter; 1.78 length) and: taper tank (600 liters). Rainfall data for study area was recorded by HOBO tipping rain gauge for four months. Rainwater was calculated and harvested 116.7% yield to the water demand for the study area. The rainfall for four months at the study area showed that the rainwater demand was sufficient to be collected and used for the mosque activities. The highest rainfall data collected was 75.2 mm. This study would help to initiate a starting point to create a green mosque concept into reality. Furthermore, this system applied the concept of green building that create environmental friendly surrounding as a stepping stone to educate and at the same time save the environment and minimize the energy wastage

Optimizing of pharmaceutical active compounds biodegradability in secondary effluents by β-lactamase from Bacillus subtilis using central composite design

Biodegradation of pharmaceuticals active compounds (PACs) in secondary effluents by using B. subtilis 2012WTNC as a function of β-lactamase was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) designed by central composite design (CCD). Four factors including initial concentration of bacteria (1–6 log10 CFU mL−1), incubation period (1–14 days), incubation temperature (20–40 °C) and initial concentration of PACs (1–5mg L−1) were investigated. The optimal operating factors for biodegradation process determined using response surface methodology (RSM) was recorded with 5.57 log10 CFU mL−1 of B. subtilis, for 10.38 days, at 36.62 °C and with 4.14 mg L−1 of (cephalexin/amoxicillin) with R2 coefficient of 0.99. The biodegradation was 83.81 and 93.94% respectively. The relationship among the independent variables was significant (p < 0.05) with 95% of confidence level at the best operating parameters. The bioassay for PACs after the degradatio

Identification and selection of best fitting candidate distribution for rainfall frequency analysis in Cameron Highlands

In frequency analysis based on analytical method, there are quite a number of probability distributions to be used for quantile estimation. The selection of inappropriate one will lead to either overestimation or underestimation of the quantiles. Thus the identification and selection of the best fitting probability distribution should be given emphasis. The L-moment method offers advantages over the conventional method of moment and thus is more reliable in the distribution identification. The focus of this study is on the identification and selection of best fitting probability distribution, based on L-moment ratio parameters and L-moment ratio diagram. The results show that the GEV (Generalized Extreme Value) distribution fits quite well to data series at most of the homogeneous regions and rainfall intervals