Fundamental Study on Reduction of Loads Flowing into Creek Water using Carbonized Wastes

Abstract

The ability to purify water using carbonized waste biomass was examined. Two types of charcoal of thinned cedar and carbonized pine-needle were packed into each PVC column. Two types of charcoal of thinned cedar had different particle diameter of larger and smaller than 2 mm. Aqueous solution of potassium nitrate (KNO₃) or water suspension with paddy soil passed through a carbonized material saturated with the test water. Increases of electrical conductivity and pH of a column with KNO₃ solution were larger than those of a column with water suspension. Increase in concentration of total phosphorous was significantly larger for pine-needle than charcoals in the KNO₃ solution experiment, and the concentration decreased for charcoals and kept constant for pine-needle in the water suspension experiment. For inorganic nitrogen, reduction by pine-needle was larger than charcoals. It was shown that carbonized pine-needle was more effective for the reduction of nitrate nitrogen than charcoal. Comparing the experiments using both test waters gave that the speed to be solved of soluble matter which was contained in a carbonized material was decreased in an experiment with water suspension because of the higher concentration of total dissolved matter and adherence of suspended matter.