Household Waste Water Treatment using Activated Charcoal: An Effective and Sustainable Approach

Abstract

Effective household wastewater management is crucial for environmental sustainability and public health, especially in areas with limited advanced treatment infrastructure. This study explores the use of activated charcoal as a cost-effective and efficient method for treating household wastewater. Known for its high adsorption capacity, activated charcoal was evaluated for its ability to remove key contaminants from wastewater collected from residential sources such as kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry areas. The research utilized both batch adsorption tests and column filtration experiments. In the batch tests, wastewater samples were treated with varying doses of activated charcoal (2, 5, 10, and 15 g/L) over different contact times (30 minutes to 4 hours). The results showed that activated charcoal effectively reduced Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), with average reductions of 75%, 65%, and 70%, respectively. Additionally, activated charcoal demonstrated significant effectiveness in removing heavy metals and organic compounds, with removal efficiencies ranging from 60% to 80% depending on the contaminant type and operational conditions. The optimal treatment conditions were found to be a dosage of 10 g/L and a contact time of 2 hours. Future research could focus on optimizing regeneration processes and exploring hybrid systems that combine activated charcoal with other treatment technologies to further enhance performance.