Development of a full-scale cost effective mango peel biochar-sand filter based wastewater treatment chamber in Patharpratima in West Bengal

Abstract

A feasible three stage full-scale domestic wastewater treatment chamber has been developed using a septic tank, biochar and sand filter chamber and a chlorination chamber providing a one-stop solution. The experimental setup was suitably made such that various properties of the influent can be analyzed at various steps of the filtration process thereby providing the removal percentages of various wastewater constituents by each layer. Water neutrality along with sufficient COD and BOD removal of around 97% and 88% are reported respectively. The water quality improved in terms of reduced turbidity, improved color, odor and taste. Subsequently, the treated effluent was found to be safe for domestic, agricultural and drinking purposes as per the drinking water standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). As the experiment was conducted in a rural area in West Bengal (India), economical analysis of the pilot treatment chamber revealed its feasibility for the target population, especially low income to poverty stricken demographic. The results also show a 99.999% removal of E.coli confirming the technology's suitability for small to medium sized communities.