Application of agricultural waste biochar for canteen wastewater treatment in Chulalongkorn University

The potential use of biochar in canteen wastewater remediation. Biochars were prepared from rice straw, bagasse or coir, produced by slow temperature pyrolysis at 300oC for 1 h. This study characterized the physical and chemical properties of biochar products related to wastewater treatment. The physical and chemical parameters of wastewater were analyzed before and after treatment with the three different types of biochar. Measured parameters included, pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), oil and grease, total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TKN). The biochar derived from rice straw contained the highest biomass content (39.5 + 2.1%), followed by coir (38.6 + 2.2 %), and bagasse (32.7 + 1.5 %). Overall, the water quality after biochar treatment was improved. The removal of oil and grease was approximately 98% while the removal of TSS was 92-95%. This study suggests that biochar made from agricultural waste is effective at wastewater treatment and that such waste materials could be converted into an eco-friendly value added product