Improvement of drinking water quality by using plant biomass through household biosand filter – A decentralized approach

Abstract

The removal of microbial and physico-chemical contaminants was investigated using an innovative biosand filter (BSF) containing three combinations of coniferous pinus bark biomass (CPBB), i.e. 1 cm (treatment 2), 2.5 cm (treatment 3) and 5 cm (treatment 4). The efficiency of BSF was assessed in batch mode experiments and the comparative reductions of contaminants were monitored over the control treatment (1) at temperature range of 1–15 °C for 90 days. Standard methods were used to analyze 9 operating, physico-chemicals and biological water quality parameters of pre-and post-water filtration samples after 15 days interval. The results showed mean 93 ± 2% and 95 ± 3% reductions of Eischerichia coli and total coliforms, respectively, for BSF containing the highest depth of CPBB (5 cm), whereby 100% removal was observed during the treatment time T30 to T45 days. The general affinity sequence for E. coli, total coliforms and turbidity removal in the four treatments was: BSF with 5 cm CPBB > BSF with 2.5 cm CPBB > BSF with 1 cm CPBB > Control. It was concluded that modified BSF with additional adsorbent of locally available CPBB is a very good decentralized treatment option for drinking water.