Rice Husk Biochar Filtration for Microplastic Removal from Raw Water at a Drinking-Water Depot in Aceh Besar, Indonesia
Abstract
Abstract Microplastic contamination of raw water used by small-scale drinking-water depots is an emerging concern, as conventional treatment is not designed to remove particles below five millimetres. This study evaluated the removal efficiency of a rice husk biochar filter for microplastics in raw water from a drinking-water depot in Aceh Besar Regency, Indonesia. A laboratory-scale acrylic column was operated under five media configurations: an unmodified control (silica sand and gravel only), a five-centimetre bed of raw, non-pyrolysed rice husk, and pyrolysed biochar beds of five, ten and fifteen centimetres. Microplastic abundance was determined by microscopic counting before and after filtration, and polymer composition by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The raw water contained 120 particles per litre, dominated by fragment and pellet shapes in blue, black and transparent colours. Filtration reduced this abundance to 82 particles per litre in the control (31.67% removal), 46 particles per litre with raw rice husk (61.67%), three particles per litre with the five-centimetre biochar bed (97.50%), and to non-detectable levels with the ten- and fifteen-centimetre beds (100%). Flow rate declined progressively with bed thickness, from 25.6 to 17.7 millilitres per minute, consistent with longer residence time promoting particle retention. FTIR spectra of the effluent particles retained absorption bands consistent with oxidised polyethylene or polypropylene,…
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