Utilization of Biofilter System Combine With Clay and Waste Polythene Liner in Improveing the Quality of Brackish Water

Water scarcity of drinking and agriculture is one of the immerging issues today. Few interrelated salinity reduction methods were experimented, namely; charcoal filter bed, charcoal and compost leaching columns with clay and waste polythene liner and uptake by Typha angustifolio plant biofilter. Parameters such as EC, salt%, pH, TDS, DO and organic content of brackish water were 6.31 mS/cm, 3.2%, 3370 mg/l, 6.4, 7.9 mg/l and 0.147%, respectively. It is certain that charcoal on its own will not act as a biofilter to desalination. As alternative, mature compost can be used, since it contains substrate for the microbial population, removes around 3/4 of the salinity with liner system. Typha did survive at moderate salt concentrations and it did remove 1/3 of the salt. In fact, the field scale biofilter system removed around 2/3 of the salt. This study narrows down to combine; mature compost, Typha and the liner system to remove 100 % of the salinity. However, the hydraulic conductivity of the liner system should be increased by modifying the liner. This can be use for irrigation of salt loving crops, industrial use or even for domestic use. Key words: Clay waste polythene clay liner, leaching columns, filter bed, salinity and Brackish wate