Abstract
An agent synthesized from amorphous silica and hydrated lime (CSH-lime) was investigated for its ability to simultaneously remove the colour, phosphorus and disinfection from the effluents from wastewater treatment plants on swine farms. CSH-lime removed the colour and phosphate from the effluents, with the colour-removal effects especially high at pH 12, and phosphorous removal was more effective in strongly alkaline conditions (pH>10). Colour decreased from 432±111 (mean±SD ) to 107±41 colour units and -P was reduced from 45±39 mg/L to undetectable levels at the CSH-lime dose of 2.0% w/v. Moreover, CSH-lime reduced the total organic carbon from 99.0 to 37.9 mg/L at the dose of 2.0% w/v and was effective at inactivating total heterotrophic and coliform bacteria. However, CSH-lime did not remove nitrogen compounds such as nitrite, nitrate and ammonium. Colour was also removed from dye solutions by CSH-lime, at the same dose.
Acknowledgements
We thank Keiko Sumiya and Keiko Otokoyama for their skilled technical assistance.