Fly ash particles as a filter material in on-site wastewater treatment systems for total phosphorus reduction

In this paper, a simple filter model is used to determine the utility of fly ash fraction for total phosphorus reduction. Fly ash, which is introduced in this work, is a fraction of natural fly ash of particle size greater than 0.3 mm, and is used as a media filter material to reduce the total phosphorus concentration in wastewater. The results of a single snapshot sample indicate that fly ash fraction can hold wastewater due to its high specific surface area and release the final treated effluent at an appropriate level in terms of total phosphorus concentration. The physical and hydraulic characteristics and also the chemical composition of this fly ash fraction, and then the results of a single snapshot sample encourage both towards considering the material for total phosphorus reduction. Furthermore, this study proposes the valorization of fly ash waste material and its application as media filter for total phosphorus reduction.