Cocopeat for wastewater treatment in the developing world. I: Comparison to traditional packing media in lab scale biofiltration columns
Abstract
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.Cocopeat, a by-product of coconut processing
plants widely available in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Indonesia,
was studied for its ability to support biological nutrient removal in lab-scale vertical
flow columns treating simulated wastewater. Treatment performance for cocopeat was
compared to sphagnum peat, a traditional packing medium, and Celite, an inert clay
pellet. Removal efficiencies of nitrogen, phosphorus, and biological oxygen demand
(BOD) were measured over a period of 325 days. During the treatment period, varying
configurations were tested to determine the effect of varying aerobic, anoxic, and
anaerobic zones on nutrient removal. Overall, similar BOD removal profiles were obtained
for cocopeat and sphagnum peat. Slightly more efficient anoxic conditions and a less
acidic environment developed with the cocopeat. Up to 75% nitrogen removal was obtained;
however, phosphorus removal was not accomplished using the experimental setup, likely
due to the absence of a completely anaerobic treatment zone. Overall, cocopeat appears
to be a promising alternative packing material for on-site wastewater treatment in
Southeast Asia in terms of nitrogen removal.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11464Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000995Publication Info
Danley-Thomson, AA; Gardner, CM; Gwin, CA; & Gunsch, CK (2016). Cocopeat for wastewater treatment in the developing world. I: Comparison to traditional
packing media in lab scale biofiltration columns. Journal of Environmental Engineering (United States), 142(2). 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000995. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/11464.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Claudia K. Gunsch
Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Claudia Gunsch is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and holds secondary
appointments in the Nicholas School of the Environment and the Department of Biomedical
Engineering. She joined the Duke Faculty in 2004 after obtaining her PhD from the
University of Texas at Austin, her MS from Clemson University and her BS from Purdue
University. Currently, she serves as the Director for PreMiEr, the National Science
Foundation Engineering Research Center for Precis

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