BIOCHAR AS AN ECO-ADDITION IN WASTEWATER AND WASTEWATER SLUDGE TREATMENT PROCESSES IN NON-URBANIZED AREAS

Abstract

Especially in non-urbanized areas there is a need to use various waste products, e.g. from agriculture, households, etc. New products that are created in a simple way should be able to be used many times without the use of complicated and expensive technology.
 This article presents the potential of biochar used in wastewater treatment processes and sludge management in small installations - for the maximum maintained number of users equal to 50. The possibilities of two substances used in sewage management processes, such as char and biochar will be presented. These substances, produced from pyrolysis, are stable carbon-rich compounds which have various beneficial applications like soil conditioning, remediation and wastewater treatment. In particular, biochar originating from wastewater sludge pyrolysis, possible to be generated at the place of formation, was taken into account. In addition, ways to increase the reliability of the treatment plant with biochar based filters are described.
 Attention was paid to the various applications of biochar and its effectiveness in the above-mentioned processes, for various pollutants, typical ones and for more demanding installations (high-efficient treatment), among others:
 - study of biochar filters as a replacement or complement for mineral filters for removal of pharmaceutically active compounds from wastewater in onsite wastewater treatment plants (OWTP’s). Results from the works of biodegradation, adsorption and a combination of these processes on the removal of pharmaceutically active compounds wastewater in biochar filters will be presented. worked under typical for onsite wastewater treatment plants conditions e.g. infiltration beds. Various variants of tested installations will be presented (with different forms of biochar and on various medium)
 - study of char and biochar use for different heavy metals after being filtered through biochar and char filters.
 - study of different forms of biochar, derived from natural, easily accessible sources, which can be easily reused in the environment as a fertilizer or biocompost, for example from: sludge from onsite wastewater treatment plants, Miscanthus, rice husks and wood chips, which differ in composition, porosity, active surface, sorption potential, and finally in the effectiveness of retaining various contamination.