Removal of Nutrients, Organic Matter and Heavy Metals from Paddy Field Drainage by Charcoal

Asa Miura; Eisaku Shiratani; Koji Hamada; Tadayoshi Hitomi; Ikuo Yoshinaga; Tomijiro Kubota

doi:10.2965/jwet.2009.9

Original Paper

Removal of Nutrients, Organic Matter and Heavy Metals from Paddy Field Drainage by Charcoal

Asa Miura, Eisaku Shiratani, Koji Hamada, Tadayoshi Hitomi, Ikuo Yoshinaga, Tomijiro Kubota

Author information

Asa Miura
Laboratory of Water Environment Conservation, National Institute for Rural Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan.
Eisaku Shiratani
Laboratory of Water Environment Conservation, National Institute for Rural Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan.
Koji Hamada
Laboratory of Water Environment Conservation, National Institute for Rural Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan.
Tadayoshi Hitomi
Laboratory of Water Environment Conservation, National Institute for Rural Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan.
Ikuo Yoshinaga
Research Team for Subtropical Farming, National Agricultural Research Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan.
Tomijiro Kubota
Laboratory of Water Environment Conservation, National Institute for Rural Engineering, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan.

Keywords: charcoal, contact time, paddy drainage, water treatment equipment

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2009 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 9-17

DOI https://doi.org/10.2965/jwet.2009.9

Details

Abstract

This study examined the ability of charcoal to remove organic matter, nutrients and heavy metals from agricultural drainage. Water treatment equipment containing wood charcoal was installed in a test paddy field. Concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Zn and Pb) in water samples taken before and after passing through the equipment were analyzed. The equipment was installed simply at the outlet in the test field and removed environmental load substances during a contact time of more than one hour. The reduction rates of TOC and TN ranged from 20 % to 40 %. The reduction rate of TP ranged from 20 % to 90 %. The reduction rates of metals (Cr, Fe, Pb) ranged from 23 % to 62 %. These results suggest that charcoal can be used in water treatment equipment to treat paddy field drainage water.

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