Author(s): Mohammed Iqbal Thayyil; Ligy Philip

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Untreated discharge; Municipal wastewater; Instream treatment; Attached growth; Biofilm

Abstract: Deterioration of water quality in water bodies is a pressing issue in densely populated urban areas, particularly in low-income developing nations. The lack of facilities for treating the generated wastewater or the improper treatment in existing sewage treatment plants is the root cause of this problem. Anthropogenic pollution of receiving water bodies leads to disturbances in aquatic ecosystems, negative health impacts and water scarcity. This study proposes a simple, cheap and decentralized option for instream treatment of wastewater using the attached growth biological system. The removal of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) and N from synthetic wastewater was evaluated using different attachment media under anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The performance was monitored at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs), and the best attachment media was proposed. The sequential application anaerobic–aerobic system removed up to 82% COD and 73% ammonia-N at an HRT of 3 h, thus showing significant potential for instream treatment of municipal wastewater.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-6009-1_2

Year: 2022