Treatment of Micro-particles in Stormwater Using the Fiber Filter Media

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.

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Development of Fiber Filter Media to Control Heavy Metals and Nutrients in Urban Stormwater Runoff

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.510-511.918 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 510-511 ◽

pp. 918-921 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ree Ho Kim ◽

Sang Ho Lee ◽

Jinwoo Jeong ◽

Chae Sung Gee

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Water Environment ◽

Stormwater Runoff ◽

Filter Media ◽

Urban Stormwater ◽

Treatment Unit ◽

Urban Stormwater Runoff ◽

Study Techniques ◽

Fiber Filter

The pollutants in urban stormwater runoff, which lead to non-point source contamination of water environment around cities, are of great concern. Lignocellulose fiber filters have potential to treat urban stormwater runoff because they are cheap and environmentally friendly, and can effectively remove particulate pollutants. However, the fiber filters alone cannot sufficiently remove soluble pollutants including heavy metals, nitrogen compounds, and phosphate. In this study, techniques for chemical modification of lignocellulose fiber filter were implemented to enhance the treatment efficiency of soluble pollutants in urban stormwater runoff. Using these chemically modified fiber filters together with polymer filter media, a new treatment device was examined to control the pollutants in first flush of stormwater. The results indicated that the filters incorporated into the treatment unit allow the control of urban stormwater runoff with minimal cost and high efficiency.

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