Application of soil biotechnology for treatment of domestic wastewater and performance monitoring of bench-scale unit

Abstract

Domestic wastewater contains organic contaminants and pathogenic organisms. Untreated wastewater may pollute river, lakes, canals and other water bodies as well as groundwater. Thus, wastewater or used water needs treatment. A sewage treatment plant aims to remove pollutants through bioremediation or phytoremediation process. Natural process for treatment of domestic wastewater follows either bioremediation or phytoremediation or both. Soil biotechnology is an energy efficient green process which can operate through bioremediation Principle and it necessary with the application of phytoremediation. The report also presents the results obtained from the research study carried to investigate the treatment or removal efficiency of pollutants from wastewater. From the experimental work, it was evident that SBT model brings about significant removal rate when design for optimum operating conditions. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) removal efficiency more than 80%.TKN, total nitrogen and phosphates of this technique is good. Organic Loading Rate (OLR) is 0.075802 kg/m3/day, which almost nearable of Standard Rate Trickling Filter (SRTF) and Hydraulic Loading Rate (HLR) is 0.505263 m3/d/m2. On the other hand, (Soil Biotechnology) SBT has low annual operation and maintenance cost, comparable to land-based systems and lower than conventional or advanced technologies. It does not produce any odorous bio-sludge and consumes the least energy.