Papers by Keyword: Wood Fiber Mat

Abstract: Pollutants in rainwater often cause problems such as non-point source pollutant and deterioration of collected water quality in rainwater harvesting systems. Fiber filter media have been developed to resolve these problems by removing pollutants in rainwater by filtration and ion-exchange mechanisms. They have been also successfully applied for the treatment of first-flush rainwater. However, little information is available on the long-term efficiency and the lifetime of the fiber filter media. In this study, new and used fiber filter media were compared in terms of their filterability and ion-exchange capability. The used filter media samples were taken from a first flush filter in a rainwater harvesting system located in an elementary school in Kyonggi-Do. They were used from 2005 to 2010 without any replacement or cleaning. Water quality parameters of an inflow and outflow in the first flush filter were analyzed to quantify the on-site treatment efficiency of the used media. It was shown that the turbidity was removed by approximately 60% and COD was partly removed. The removal efficiency of particles by the used media was similar to that by the new media. Nevertheless, the removal efficiencies of nitrogen and phosphorous by the used media were substantially reduced when compared with the new media. This suggests that the fiber filter media should be periodically replaced to maintain high removals of nutrients. On the other hand, they can be used for more than 6 years if their primary purpose is to removal particles.

Abstract: First-flush rainwater is of great interest in the research on urban environmental protection and rainwater harvesting. It deteriorates the chemical, physical, and microbiological quality of the collected/stored water as well as the water body in an urban area. Accordingly, effective and economic treatment of first-flush rainwater is highly required. This study aimed to develop a technology for the treatment of first-flush rainwater using new filters made of wood fiber mat, dental cotton, and feldspar. The removal of pollutants in first-flush rainwater with each filter material was evaluated. Experiments were carried out using an artificial rainwater solution made of road dust particles (less than 200 um small) and D.I. water that contained ionic species. The SS concentration of the solution was set between 30 and 150 mg/L. Prior to the experiments, the fiber materials were pretreated with NaOH, FeCl₃, and Al₂O₃. The batch test results indicated that the phosphate removal efficiency of the wood fiber mat was 8.6%; of the dental cotton, 34.7%; and of the feldspar, 1.7%. On the other hand, the heavy metal removal efficiency of the wood fiber mat was 91%; of the dental cotton, 26%; and of the feldspar, 0%. The highest cation exchange capacity of the wood fiber mat that was pretreated with NaOH was attributed to the existence of carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups in the wooden polymers. Combinations of filter materials were found to have been effective in removing particles in the rainwater. The combination of the wood fiber mat with polyethylene beads resulted in 97-98% particle removal. Other combinations such as DP (dental cotton and polyethylene beads), MF (wood fiber mat and feldspar), and DF (dental cotton and feldspar) showed particle removal rates of 90-95%, 84-96%, and 87-94%, respectively. After 30 minutes, all the combinations had a particle removal rate of over 90%.