Designing a Lab-Scale Biofilm Reactor with Coconut Shell and Gravels as a Surface Medium for Municipal Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater is of serious concern all over the world. Categorically, Municipal wastewater occupies a big percentage of total wastewater. Several methods were introduced for treatment and many methods are still in the research phase. High cost and low efficiency possess hurdles inapplicability of advanced wastewater treatment technologies in middle and lower-income countries. In this study, a low cost and efficient biofilm reactor were evaluated as an improved method to treat municipal wastewater. A lab-scale biofilm reactor was designed in which coconut shells (BRC) and gravels (BRS) were introduced as the surface medium for microbial growth. Samples were collected from municipal wastewater storage at Cuttack, Odisha India. Key indicators (TDS, BOD, SS, and HRT) were continually monitored on the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th day determine the efficiency of the biofilm reactor. Results showed a remarkable reduction in TDS from the 2nd day to 8th day onwards in BRC (coconut shells) from 4.87% to 28.8%, whereas, BRS (gravels) showed a reduction from 11.3% - 40.5%, respectively. BOD reduced under BRC from 4.54% to 22.7% and 9.09% to 36.4% under BRS, respectively. A visible improvement was observed in the water quality on both medium BRC and BRS. Hydraulic retention time (HRT) was also performed for 12 hours to check the efficiency of the reactor to remove the wastes. During 12 hours of HRT promising decline in TDS (27.0% to 39.5%), SS (12.2% to 48.5%) and BOD (9.09% to 45.5%). Our results concluded that BRC and BRS might be used as a bioreactor material to treat the waste and improve the water quality. The design of the biofilm reactor can further be improved and refined to enhance efficiency and extend to a larger scale.x