Utilization of indigenous agricultural waste materials as biofilters in contaminated water
Keywords:
Arsenic, Cadmium, charcoal, Escherichia coli, mushroom spent, mycoremediation, wood chipAbstract
Bioremediation using spent Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sp.) substrate (Pleurotus SMS), wood chips, and charcoal offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach to water treatment. However, further study is needed to determine its application in Isabela province due to differences in the composition of mushroom spent substrate in the Philippines compared to those in other countries. Hence, this study was conducted to develop a prototype water treatment system integrated with different agricultural waste materials to treat heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As), and Escherichia coli contamination in water. A prototype water treatment system with separate compartments for Pleurotus SMS (200 g), wood chips (70 g), and charcoal (180 g) as biosorbents was developed. Separate biofilter experiments for Cd and As, and E. coli were performed at various flow rates (1 mL/min, 5 mL/min, and 10 mL/min) and sampling times, and the percent removal and bacterial concentration were calculated. The water treatment system with mushroom spent substrate registered the highest efficiency at the slowest flow rate of 1 mL/min (i.e. 97% for Cd and 95% for As). However, of the two heavy metals, As significantly registered a higher percent removal than Cd, even at faster flow rates, suggesting that the filter had a greater affinity towards As than Cd. The decrease in E. coli levels from 154 CFU/mL to an average of 15 CFU/mL over 48 hours of filtration indicates that biofiltration could be a feasible substitute for conventional membrane-based methods. The fabricated water treatment system based on oyster mushroom spent substrate is effective for the removal of pathogens as well as Cd and As from contaminated water. These findings can be used as a basis for a sustainable solution for treating heavy metals from industrial wastewater and simultaneously solving the waste issue in mushroom farms.
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