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Efficiency of Bark, Activated Charcoal,
Foam and Sand Filters in Reducing
Pollutants from Greywater

Sahar S Dalahmeh, Mikael Pell, Bjrn

Vinners, Lars D Hylander, Ingrid
born & Hkan Jnsson

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution

An International Journal of
Environmental Pollution

ISSN 0049-6979
Volume 223
Number 7

Water Air Soil Pollut (2012)

223:3657-3671
DOI 10.1007/s11270-012-1139-z

1 23
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1 23
 Author's personal copy
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671
DOI 10.1007/s11270-012-1139-z
Efficiency of Bark, Activated Charcoal, Foam and Sand
Filters in Reducing Pollutants from Greywater
Sahar S Dalahmeh & Mikael Pell & Bjrn Vinners &
Lars D Hylander & Ingrid born & Hkan Jnsson
Received: 22 September 2011 / Accepted: 8 March 2012 / Published online: 29 March 2012
# Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
Abstract Greywater is a potential resource of water
that can be improved to meet the quality needed for
irrigation. This study evaluated the performance of
bark, activated charcoal, polyurethane foam and sand
filters in removing biochemical oxygen demand
(BOD5), surfactants, phosphorus, nitrogen and micro-
bial indicators from greywater during start-up and
steady state. In column experiments, 0.6 m high filters
(diameter 20 cm) were fed for 113 days with artificial
greywater at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.032 m3 m2
S. S. Dalahmeh (*) : B. Vinners : H. Jnsson
Department of Energy and Technology,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU),
Box 7032, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
e-mail: Sahar.Dalahmeh@slu.se
M. Pell
Department of Microbiology,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU),
Box 7025, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
B. Vinners
National Veterinary Institute,
751 89 Uppsala, Sweden
L. D. Hylander
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University,
Villavgen 16,
752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
I. born
Department of Crop Production Ecology,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU),
Box 7043, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
day1 and an organic loading rate of 0.014 kg BOD5
m2 day1. Bark and activated charcoal efficiently
reduced the concentrations of organics (BOD5), sur-
factants (methylene blue active substancesMBAS),
total phosphorus (Tot-P) and total thermotolerant
coliform numbers, while sand and foam were less
efficient. Bark, activated charcoal, foam and sand re-
duced influent BOD5 by 98, 97, 37 and 75 %; MBAS
by >99, >99, 73 and 96 %; Tot-P by 97, 91, 36 and
78 %; and total nitrogen by 19, 98, 13 and 5 %,
respectively. BOD5 and MBAS were efficiently re-
duced directly from start-up by bark and activated
charcoal, while foam needed 30 days to achieve about
50 % reduction in BOD5. Bark was the most efficient
filter in reducing thermotolerant faecal coliforms (2.4
log10), while foam achieved the lowest reduction (0.5
log10). Overall, bark and activated charcoal filters
appeared to be the most suitable filters for improving
greywater quality to reach irrigation quality in terms of
organic matter reduction. Performance of these filters
under higher and fluctuating loadings and the long-
term sustainability of the filter materials need further
investigation.
Keywords Adsorption . BOD5 reduction . Coliforms .
Residence time . Irrigation . Nitrate . Organic matter
Abbreviations
BOD5 Biochemical oxygen demand
COD Chemical oxygen demand
CFU Colony forming unit
 Author's personal copy
3658
DOC Dissolved organic carbon
EC Electrical conductivity
MBAS Methylene blue active substances
SU Standard unit
TOC Total organic carbon
Tot-N Total nitrogen
Tot-P Total phosphorus
TTFC Thermotolerant faecal coliforms
1 Introduction
Greywater accounts for 5080 % of household waste-
water (Al-Jayyousi 2002). Treated greywater that ful-
fils the quality requirements can be viewed as a
sustainable source of irrigation or service water, espe-
cially in water-scarce countries. For example, Jordan
generates about 55106 m3 of greywater per year
(Morel and Diener 2006), which corresponds to
18 % of its total water supply (MWI 2007).
The health risks relating to greywater are well
known, but are considered low compared with those
associated with sewage water (WHO 2006). The main
microbial hazards in greywater stem from faecal cross
contamination which according to WHO (2006) is
limited and related to washing diapers, anal cleansing
and/or showering.
The concentrations of salts, solids, organic matter,
nitrogen, phosphorus and pathogens in greywater vary
widely (Gross et al. 2005) and depend on the volume
of water used (Morel and Diener 2006). Recent studies
have reported organic matter including fat and surfac-
tants as problematic pollutants in greywater and
impact soil and plants (Travis et al. 2010; Dalahmeh
et al. 2011), which triggers the necessity for greywater
treatment before use for irrigation.
The most commonly applied method for treating
greywater is sand infiltration. Clogging problems
(Spychala and Ejewski 2003), scarcity of well-
graded sand in some regions and high transporta-
tion costs due to the high bulk density (Roy et al.
1998) are obstacles in using sand filters. Thus,
alternative materials such as bark, activated char-
coal and polyurethane foam with suitable physico-
chemical characteristics, low bulk density allowing
easy transportation and handling might be attrac-
tive alternative but must investigated for reduction
of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical
oxygen demand (COD), surfactants, nutrients and
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671
microbial pollutants and compared to sand before
large-scale use.
Only a limited number of studies on the reduction
of BOD5, COD and surfactants in filters using bark or
charcoal or light weight polyurethane foam as bio-
carrier have been reported, and none of them have
focussed on producing irrigation water. Bark (Lens
et al. 1993), charcoal (Ahsan et al. 2001) and polyure-
thane foam (Guo et al. 2010) seem to have a high
capacity to reduce BOD5 and COD, making them
promising for greywater treatment. In addition, bark
and charcoal have been studied for the adsorption of
other pollutants, such as heavy metals (Babel and
Kurniawan 2004; Argun et al. 2009) and aromatic
hydrocarbons (Mukherjee et al. 2007; Li et al. 2010).
Nonetheless, the potential of these materials for the
reduction of organic matter from greywater with the
aim to produce water for irrigation needs more atten-
tion. The behaviour of filters during start-up and
steady state needs to be studied in view of their phys-
ical characteristics (effective size and specific surface
area). This is needed to understand the pollutant
reduction in the filter and consequently establish (at later
stages) a design model and criteria for the filters.
The objective of this study was to analyse and
compare the reduction of BOD5, COD, methylene
blue active substances (MBAS), phosphorus, nitrogen
and certain microorganisms from artificial greywater
during the start-up and initial steady state phase for
four different filters, namely bark, charcoal, polyure-
thane foam and sand. The overall aim was to evaluate
suitable filters for small-scale greywater treatment to
produce water to be used for irrigation of crops.
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Filter Materials
Four filter materials were studied: pine bark (bark),
activated charcoal (charcoal), polyurethane foam (foam)
and sand. The latter was included as a reference due to
its common use as filter material. Sand and bark were
obtained from Rimbo Jord (Rimbo, Sweden). The sand
was sieve-analysed according to ASTM (1998). The
grain size distribution ranged from 0.8 to 6.3 mm, the
effective grain size D10 was 1.4 mm, D60 was 3.1 mm
and the uniformity coefficient was 2.2. The bark origi-
nated from an undefined mixture of pine bark and was
 Author's personal copy
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671
air-dried before being sieved through 7, 5, 3, 2, 1 and
0.8 mm screens. Bark retained on the 5-, 3- and 1-mm
screens was remixed in a 3:5:2 ration to obtain unifor-
mity coefficient and effective size corresponding to that
of the sand. Two different sizes of pelleted charcoal
(diameter 1.5 mm, length 1.5 or 35 mm) were obtained
from VWR International AB (Stockholm, Sweden).
Some charcoal pellets were also crushed to obtain par-
ticle size less than 1.5 mm, and the 1.5-mm, 35-mm
and crushed fractions were mixed in a 1:3:1 ratio, to
obtain a uniformity coefficient and effective size similar
to that of the sand. Polyurethane-based polyole of ether
type, (FiltrenTM foam), with 1.01.6 mm pore opening
size was obtained from B. kesson (Mnsters,
Sweden).
The dry, remixed materials were manually packed
to a depth of 60 cm in 100 cm high acrylate plastic
columns with a diameter of 20 cm (Fig. 1). Before
filling, a 10-cm layer of gravel (1025 mm) was
placed in the bottom of the columns to facilitate drain-
age. During filling with filter material, the columns
were levelled after every 10 cm by manual shaking.
The foam was provided by the supplier in a 0.6 m
1.0 m1.5 m block that was precision cut into cylin-
ders (60 cm height and 20 cm diameter) to exactly fit
the acrylate plastic columns. At each of 0, 20, 40 and
60 cm depths below the top surface of the filter mate-
rials, four sampling holes (diameter 20 mm) were
made around the circumference of the columns
(Fig. 1).
The pH, loss on ignition, bulk density, particle
density, porosity, constant head hydraulic conductivity
sprinkler
course gravel
20 cm
sampling ports
20 cm
20 cm
course gravel
10 cm of course
outlet
gravel (10 mm)
20 cm
Fig. 1 Set-up of filter columns used for infiltration of artificial
greywater
3659
and specific surface area were determined for the filter
materials (Table 1). For pH measurement, samples
were prepared by mixing filter material with deionised
water with ratios of 1:10 by weight for bark and foam
and 1:5 for charcoal and sand. Materials were stirred
for 1 h and then left to rest for 10 min before pH was
measured with Ag/AgCl SympHony pH electrode and
SympHony pH/DO meter (VWR, Stockholm, Sweden).
Different mixing ratios corresponded to the different
volumes of the materials. Loss on ignition was deter-
mined at 550C for 4 h (Wright et al. 2008). Bulk
density was determined by dividing the dry weight of
the filter media by the volume occupied by the media
(60 cm deep cylinder of 20 cm diameter). Particle den-
sities of bark, charcoal and sand were determined by
dividing 25 g sample by the corresponding volume of
particles excluding pores. Volume of particles excluding
pores was determined using the liquid immersion method
where the volume of deionised water displaced by the
particles was measured. Air-filled pores were eliminated
by gentle boiling of the mixture. The submerged particles
were left for saturation for 24 h. Porosity of bark, char-
coal and sand was determined by Eq. 1.
!
B
p 100  1  1
p
Where p is the porosity in percent of the total
volume, B is the bulk density and P the particle
density. Constant head hydraulic conductivity was
determined according to Jacob et al. (2002). The spe-
cific surface areas of bark, charcoal and sand was
determined using the BrunauerEmmettTeller
(BET) method (Brunauer et al. 1938). BET equa-
tion was used to calculate the specific surface area
of bark, charcoal and sand based on measurements
at 99,834 Pa and 20C (Flowsorb II 2300, 1996),
where 1 mL N 2 gas corresponded to 2.86 m 2
(Brunauer et al. 1938). A kaolinite sample with a
defined area of 15,900 m2 kg1 was used as the
control (Brunauer et al. 1938). Specific surface
area of foam was provided by the manufacturer.
Residence time was determined after 10 days from
start-up by adding a 1-L pulse of NaCl tracer
solution (10 gL1) to the filters and subsequently
monitoring the electrical conductivity (EC) of the
effluent as a function of time (Lens et al. 1993).
Residence time in bark and foam was also deter-
mined before the start of the experiments by
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3660 Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671

Table 1 Characteristics of the

bark, charcoal, foam and sand Parameter Bark Charcoal Foam Sand
filter materials used in the study
pH (SU) 5.1 10.4 5.6 7.9
Loss on ignition (%) 90 90 100 <1
Effective size (mm) 1.4 1.4 1.01.6a 1.4
Uniformity coefficient 2.3 2.3 b
2.2
Bulk density (kg m3) 365 283 21 1,690
Particle density (kg m3) 1,340 1,900 b 2,570
a
Pore opening size Porosity (%) 73 85 b 34
b
Characteristic not applicable for Surface area (m2 g1) 0.734 >1,000 0.05c 0.136
the material
c
Hydraulic conductivity 330 500 500 360
Specific surface of foam as (cm h1)
obtained from the supplier

adding a 200-mL pulse of a fluorescent organic
tracer (uranin) (2 g L1), and subsequently, the
uranin concentration in the filtered effluent was
measured spectrophotometrically (Thermoaquamate,
Thermo Electron Ltd, Cambridge, UK) at 490 nm wave-
length (Schmid and Barczewski 1995).
The mean, longest and shortest residence times in the
filters were determined. Mean residence time was de-
fined as the time when 50 % of the total tracer recovery
had been eluted, the shortest residence time as the time
lapse between addition of water to the drained filter and
the start of water outflow and the longest residence time
as the time when no more tracer was recovered.
2.2 Artificial Greywater
Artificial greywater solution was prepared by mixing
1.25 g standard nutrient broth (Oxiod, Sollentuna, Swe-
den), 0.16 g Yes dishwashing gel (Procter and Gamble,
Stockholm, Sweden), 0.16 g hair shampoo (Palmolive-
Colgate, Italy), 0.16 g washing powder (Ariel, Procter
and Gamble, Geneva, Switzerland), 0.1 g maize oil
(El Nada, Al-Asher for products, 10th Ramadan City,
Egypt) and 1 L tap water (softened groundwater, with
calcium but not magnesium removed) from Uppsala
water plant (Uppsala, Sweden). To establish a composi-
tion similar to that of a natural greywater (Morel and
Diener 2006), different proportions of the ingredients
were mixed and analysed for BOD5 and MBAS before
deciding the final recipe (Table 3). The artificial grey-
water was mixed with 4 % (v/v) wastewater from the
primary sedimentation tank at the Kungsngen munici-
pal sewage treatment plant (Uppsala, Sweden) to inoc-
ulate it with an indigenous bacterial flora. The
proportion of inoculums (4 %) was estimated by
calculating the volume of wastewater needed to dilute
the Escherichia coli concentration from 5.3106 CFU
100 mL1 as reported by Vattenlaboratoriet (2000) to
2.0105 CFU 100 mL1, which has been reported for
greywater (Halalsheh et al. 2008). The artificial grey-
water was prepared once a week and stored at 24C
under continuous mixing.
2.3 Experimental Set-up
The columns containing bark, charcoal, foam and sand
were studied in duplicate. However, to measure the
release of organic substances from bark, an additional
bark filter column was prepared and loaded at the
same rate as the other columns, but with tap water.
Prior to the start of the experiment, each filter was fed
with 0.33 L tap water day1 for 75 days to wash the filter
materials, after which the filters were operated with arti-
ficial greywater for 113 days. The greywater was added
three times a day, in amounts of 0.7, 0.1 and 0.2 L,
respectively, based on a hydrograph for greywater gener-
ation in a typical household in a rural community in
Jordan (Abu Ghunmi et al. 2008). The hydraulic loading
rate on the filters was 0.032 m3 m2 day1, and the
organic loading rate was 0.014 kg BOD5 m2 day1.
The columns were kept at room temperature around
25C. At each loading, greywater from the cooling tank
was pumped to a heating tank and heated to 25C to
simulate field conditions (Morel and Diener 2006) before
being distributed over the filters using solid cone sprin-
klers (Fig. 2). The surplus was recycled to the cooling
tank. Greywater pumping, heating and distribution to
columns were controlled by a computer, using the soft-
ware Labview 2009 (National Instrument Sweden AB,
Stockholm, Sweden).
 Author's personal copy
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671 3661

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram compressed air

of greywater infiltration
system: storage, pumping, recirculation pipe sprinklers
heating and dosing

pressure tank & column filters

cooling tank pump heater
with stirrer

2.4 Sampling and Analyses
Samples of influent and effluent greywater from the
different filters were collected at regular intervals dur-
ing the experimental period and analysed, with the
parameters most in focus sampled and analysed more
frequently. Thus in total, between 26 and 52 effluent
samples per filter material were analysed for pH, EC,
BOD5 and MBAS, while fewer samples (210) were
used for analysis of COD, total organic carbon (TOC),
nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-
N), total nitrogen (Tot-N), phosphate phosphorus
(PO4-P), total phosphorus (Tot-P), Enterococcus spp.
and thermotolerant faecal coliforms (TTFC). The tests
were performed according to standard methods pre-
sented in Table 2.
The efficiency of reduction for the various param-
eters analysed was calculated using Eq. 2):
Cin  Cout
E  100 2 the hydraulic load of 0.032 m3 m2 day1, the mean
Cin
where E is the efficiency (percent), Cin the influent
concentration (milligram per litre) and Cout the efflu-
ent concentration (milligram per litre). When Cout was
less than the detection limit, the detection limit is used
in the calculation and E is reported as more than the
result of this calculation.
MBAS L1 (n02), which means an overall reduction
of about 60 %. Hence, during the course of the exper-
iment, both the influent and effluent from the filters
were routinely analysed once a week, 2 days after the
greywater preparation. Based on these results, the
actual reductions achieved by the different filters were
calculated (Table 3). After 113 days of operation, the
cumulative BOD5, MBAS, Tot-N and Tot-P loads into
the filters were 48, 3.4, 8.5 and 0.5 g, respectively.
3.2 Residence Time and Tracer Recovery
Over the 9 days of tracer monitoring for determination
of residence time, around 60 % of NaCl was recovered
from the bark, charcoal and foam filters, while 94 % was
recovered from the sand filter (Fig. 3). In comparison,
7 % of uranin was recovered from the bark filter and
94 % from the foam during 11 days of monitoring.
Using data on the EC of the effluents (Fig. 3) and
residence time of NaCl was estimated to 43 h for bark,
16 h for charcoal, 4 h for sand and less than 30 min for
the foam filter. The shortest residence time also dif-
fered between the filters and was more than 2.5 times
longer for bark and charcoal than for the sand and
foam filters (Table 4). The longest residence times did
not differ greatly between the filters.

3 Results 3.3 Filter Performance

3.1 Feed Characteristics In bark filters, the pH of the treated greywater

The freshly prepared artificial greywater contained
49544 mg BOD5 L1 (n02) and 39 mg MBAS L1
(n01), while artificial greywater stored refrigerated for
7 days contained 20473 mg BOD5 L1 and 152 mg
decreased, while in the charcoal, foam and sand filters,
the pH remained similar to that in the influent
(Table 3). Compared to EC in influent greywater,
initially EC decreased when greywater passed the bark
and charcoal filters (Fig. 3). Thereafter, the EC
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3662 Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671

Table 2 Parameters analysed, frequency of analysis, instruments, kits and media used for analysis, sources of materials and methods

Parameter Frequency of testing Kit/instrument/media Source of kit/instrument Method

and/or country of origin

pH Weekly Ag/AgCl SympHony VWR, Stockholm,

pH electrode Sweden
and SympHony
pH/DO meter
EC Weekly Condi 330i conductivity WTW, Weilheim
meter Germany
BOD5 Weekly SympHony dissolved VWR, Stockholm, APHA 5210-BOD5 B
oxygen electrode Sweden
and SympHony
pH/DO meter
MBAS Weekly Spectroquant kit no. 14697 Merck KGaA, US Standard Methods
Darmstadt, Germany 5540 C
CODa Twice during Dr Lange LCK814,
experiment
TOCa Once during SS EN 1484
experiment
PO4 Weeklyb Spectroquant kit Merck KGaA, US Standard Methods
no. 14848 Darmstadt, Germany 4500-P E
Tot-Pa Twice during SS EN 15681-2:2005
experiment
NO3 Weeklyb Spectroquant kit Merck KGaA,
no. 14773 Darmstadt, Germany
NH4 Weeklyb Spectroquant kit Merck KGaA, APHA 4500-NH3 D
no. 14752 Darmstadt, Germany
Tot-Na Twice during Previous. SS 028131-1
experiment
TTFCc Three times during Violet red bile agar SVA, Sweden
experiment
Enterococcusc Three times during Slantez-Bartley agar Oxoid, Sollentuna,
experiment Sweden
a
Analysed by the water laboratory at Uppsala Water and Waste Company (Sweden)
b
Analysed weekly during the last 40 days of the experiment
c
National Veterinary Institute, SVA (Uppsala, Sweden)

increased, but kept at a lower level than in the influent,
until the onset of the residence time test at day 10.
During the residence time test, the effluent EC greatly
increased as a response to the NaCl tracer pulse, but then
declined gradually and by day 22 reached a level similar
to that at the influent greywater. EC increased through-
out the experiment in greywater passing the foam and
sand filters compared to EC in influent greywater
(Table 3).
The bark and charcoal filters were characterised by
a high initial reduction of BOD5 (Fig. 4), which in-
creased further to >99 % and then remained at this
level throughout the experiment. The mean BOD5
reduction over the experimental period was 98 and
97 % for the bark and charcoal filters, respectively
(Table 3). The sand filters displayed a similar pattern
to bark and charcoal but achieved a lower level of
reduction (Fig. 4). Initially, the efficiency of BOD5
reduction by sand was 62 %. The highest reduction
efficiency (82 %) was observed on day 36, after which
it declined somewhat and then remained steady. The
foam filters achieved no reduction of BOD5 at start-
up, but then gradually improved to reach more than
50 % reduction after 3040 days, then declined to a
steady-state reduction of 40 %. The steady-state value
of BOD5 in the effluents was 65 from bark, 62
from charcoal, 26841 from foam and 11216 mg
BOD5 L1 from sand filters, respectively.
The COD reduction rates estimated in all filters
were about the same as that for BOD5 except in the
 Author's personal copy
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671 3663

Table 3 Influent characteristics and treatment performance (mean standard deviation) of the different filter materials (bark, charcoal,
foam and sand) used for treating artificial greywater

Parameter Limit of Concentration No. data Percentage reduction in effluent, No. of data
detection in influenta points of except for pH and ECb points for each
influent of the filter
(n) Bark Charcoal Foam Sand effluents (n)

pH (SU) 7.80.3b 18 6.10.4 7.80.4 7.70.2 7.70.3 38

2
EC (S cm ) 1,960140b 26 1,820400 1,730310 2,050110 2,200140 52
BOD5c 2 42556 12 982 973 3713 756 24
COD 30 890130 2 7412 942 379 722 4
TOC 0.5 304 1 744 970 4616 752 2
MBASc 0.05 3010 13 >990 >990 739 961 26
Tot-Pc 0.02 4.20.2 2 972 918 3634 787 4
PO4-P 0.01 2.10.4 5 972 981 505 833 10
Tot-Nc 0.3 7510 2 199 981 131 57 4 (2 for bark)
1 5
TTFC (CFU mL ) 1 1.733.310 4 991 9111 7414 9111 8
a
All units are in milligram per litre unless stated otherwise
b
As percentage reduction is not valid for pH and EC parameters, concentrations measured in the effluent from filters are shown in the
table
c
After 113 days of operation, the cumulative BOD5, MBAS, Tot-N and Tot-P loads into the filters were 48, 3.4, 8.5 and 0.5 g,
respectively

bark filters, which was less efficient at reducing COD
than BOD5 (Table 3). The mean COD concentration in
effluent from bark, charcoal, foam and sand was 200
7, 4810, 540205 and 245106 mg L1, respectively.
The reduction efficiency of TOC was fairly similar to
the COD reduction for all filters, leaving 80, 11, 165 and
75 mg TOC L1 in the effluent from bark, charcoal,
foam and sand, respectively. The 9514 mg COD L1
(n01) measured in the effluent from the bark filter fed
with tap water dropped during 85 days to 558.3 mg
COD L1 (n01).
The reduction of MBAS in the bark and charcoal
filters was >99 % immediately at the start and contin-
ued at this level over the 113-day experimental period
(Table 3 and Fig. 5). The reduction rate of MBAS in
the foam filters was 66 % at the start and then fluctu-
ated between >80 % and approximately 65 % until day
64, when it was stabilised at around 70 %, leaving

Fig. 3 Electrical conductiv- 11

ity vs time of effluent from
10
different filter units after
Electrical conductivity (mS/cm)

adding a pulse of NaCl to 9

influent artificial greywater. 8
The filters, bark (diamond),
7
charcoal (triangle), foam
(cross mark) and sand 6
(square), loaded at a rate of 5
0.032 m3 m2 day1
4
3
2
1
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220
Time (h)
 Author's personal copy
3664 Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671

Table 4 Recovery of tracer substance (NaCl) and hydraulic characteristics of the different filter materials used for treating artificial
greywater (mean standard deviation; n02)

Filter material Tracer recoverya (%) Mean residence time (h) Shortest residence time (min) Longest residence time (h)

Bark 543 434 2.51 1634

Charcoal 521 161 2.51 1907
Foam 6414 <0.50 <10 2150
Sand 943 40 10 2150
a
Tracer recovery is the amount of tracer molecules (measured by conductivity) leaving the filter, divided by the amount of tracer added
to the filter

8.32.5 mg MBAS L1 in the effluent. High MBAS
reduction was estimated in the sand filters, with 96 %
reduction from the onset and throughout the experi-
ment, leaving 1.20.5 mg MBAS L1 in the effluent.
The reduction rates of Tot-P was high in the bark,
charcoal and sand filters (range 7897 %) and low in
the foam filters (36 %) (Table 3). The PO4-P/Tot-P
ratio in influent was 50 % while the ratio in the
effluents was 60, 10, 46 and 40 % for bark, charcoal,
foam and sand, respectively. Removal of PO4-P was
evaluated during the last 40 days of the experiment
and was stable in all filters.
The reduction rate of Tot-N was high in the char-
coal filters (98 %) and low in the other three filter
types (range 519 %) (Table 3). Of the Tot-N, 79
80 % occurred as NO3-N in effluent from the bark and
sand filters, whereas 24 % of the Tot-N in effluent
from the foam filter was in the form of NO3-N and
23 % in the form of NH4-N (Table 5).
The reduction in TTFC in the bark, charcoal, foam
and sand filters was 2.40.5, 1.30.6, 0.60.2 and
1.30.5 log10, respectively, giving mean concentra-
tions of 1.6 10 3 , 4.6 10 3 , 5.0 10 4 and 5.7
103 CFU mL1 in the effluent. Thus, the reduction in
TTFC in the filters ranged between 74 and 99 %
(Table 3). Enterococcus spp. were not present above
the detection limit in the greywater influent or in bark
filter effluent, but were detected to be present in efflu-
ent from charcoal, foam and sand in concentrations of
100 0, 475 450 and 175 95 CFU mL1,
respectively.
4 Discussion
Sand is probably the most widely used filter material
for greywater treatment today, but it has a high bulk
density and relatively small specific surface area (Ta-
ble 1). In the present study, the purification capacity of
sand was compared with pine bark, activated charcoal
and polyurethane foam, all three materials having
lower bulk densities and higher specific surface area
(except foam) than sand.

100 4.1 Feed Characteristics

80
reduction (%)

Greywater with similar content of BOD5 to that mea-

60
sured in the artificial greywater used in the present
study (Tables 3 and 5) has been reported in Palestine,
40 Jordan and Israel (Morel and Diener 2006). Greywater
BOD5

quality varies widely and is highly correlated to water

20 consumption and types of greywater source/stream.
For instance, compared to the 42556-mg L1 BOD5
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
and 7510-mg L1 Tot-N observed in our study, more
Time (days) concentrated greywater is produced in water scares
Fig. 4 Reduction of BOD5 of artificial greywater treated in bark areas, where the water consumption is low. Halalsheh
(diamond), charcoal (triangle), foam (cross mark) and sand et al. (2008) reported 1,045 mg L 1 BOD 5 and
(square) filters loaded at a rate of 0.032 m3 m2 day1 128 mg L 1 Tot-N in greywater from rural
 Author's personal copy
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671 3665

100
63 % reduction in BOD 5 and 58 % in COD in
greywater (Suleiman et al. 2010). However, in
80 countries with a colder climate, such as Sweden, a
MBAS reduction (%)

COD reduction of 37 % has been reported for a septic

60
40
20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (days)
Fig. 5 Reduction of MBAS of artificial greywater treated in
bark (diamond), charcoal (triangle), foam (cross mark) and sand
(square) filters loaded at a rate of 0.032 m3 m2 day1
communities in Jordan. In Sweden, where water con-
sumption is much higher per capita, greywater con-
tains range 190420 mg L1 BOD7 and 1013 mg L1
Tot-N (Vinners et al. 2006).
Despite being kept refrigerated, storage of the arti-
ficial greywater for 7 days resulted in a 60 % reduction
in BOD5 and MBAS. The preheating of greywater
prior to application as well as the recycling of the
surplus to the refrigerated storage tank might have
enhanced the biological activity in the liquid. The
procedure was designed to be similar to field condi-
tions, where the water is normally collected and stored
in a septic tank before being conveyed to the filter. In
countries with a warm climate, such as Jordan, with
ambient temperature >25C during summer, a septic
tank with a 5-day hydraulic residence time can achieve
tank storing artificial wastewater for 22 h hydraulic
residence time (Pell and Nyberg 1989).
4.2 Residence Time and Tracer Recovery
The recovery of the tracer (NaCl) and the measured
residence times in the filters are important parameters
120 as they can affect the adsorption and degradation of
organic matter and microbial pathogens. Lower tracer
recovery indicates a better capacity to bind different
molecules. Longer mean residence times increases the
contact time between the pollutants and the bacterial
biofilm that develops on the surfaces of the filter
material, allowing more efficient biodegradation.
Considerable amounts of the tracer were retained
within the bark and charcoal filters and could not be
detected in the effluent, as indicated by the tracer
recovery data (Table 4). Specific surface area and
surface activity has a great influence on the adsorption
capacity of the filter materials. The bark has small
specific surface area (0.734 m2 g1) compared to char-
coal (>1,000 m2 g1); nonetheless, it showed as high
adsorption of the tracer as charcoal. This is explained
by the active surface of the bark attributed to the
polyhydroxy polyphenol groups (Bailey et al. 1999),
in which H+ ions are exchanged by cationic metals
(Randall et al. 1974). In addition, the diffusion of
tracer from the mobile water to immobile water frac-
tions and the dilution effects of the tracer in the

Table 5 Nitrogen characteristics (milligram per litre) of influent Nitrogen characteristics (milligram per litre) of influent and
and effluents from the bark, charcoal, foam and sand filters used effluents from the bark, charcoal, foam and sand filters used
for treating artificial greywater (mean standard deviation) for treating artificial greywater (mean standard deviation)

Filter material Tot-Na NO3-Nb NH4-Nc

Greywater inflow 7510 1.10.6 0.50.2

Bark 647 5110 0.050.03
Charcoal 1.30.4 0.20.1 0.070.06
Foam 663 163 14.761.92
Sand 7210 577 3.760.06
No. of data points for each filter 4 (2 for bark) 10 10
a
Limit of detection is 0.3 mg L1
b
Limit of detection is 0.2 mg L1
c
Limit of detection is 0.01 mg L1
 Author's personal copy
3666
immobile water (Schwager and Boller 1997) leads to
slowing down and retention of the tracer. Visual ob-
servation of bark filters showed that bark has notice-
ably high water holding capacity. This observation is
in agreement with 58 % water holding capacity
reported for pine bark with particle size <10 mm
(Luo and Lindsey 2006). The high specific surface
area of charcoal (>1,000 m2 g1) explains the high
adsorption of Na (Marzal et al. 1996). Tracer diluted/
held by the immobile water suggested by Schwager
and Boller (1997) is also thought to contribute to
tracer retention in charcoal.
Sand marginally adsorbed the tracers which might
be attributed to the small surface area (0.136 m2 g1).
Low retention capacity of tracer in sand has also been
reported by Stevens et al. (1986) using a dye tracer.
The mean residence time in the filters tested varied
between less than 30 min for foam up to 43 h for bark at
the hydraulic loading of 0.032 m3 m2 day1. Lens et al.
(1993) found a similar mean residence time (2 days) for
a 0.5-m-deep bark filter (30 mm average particle size)
loaded at 0.01 m3 m2 day1 using NaCl as tracer. How-
ever, Rodgers et al. (2005) reported a considerably
longer residence time of 6 days for 0.9 m deep stratified
sand filters (0.110.45 mm effective size) loaded at
0.02 m3 m2 day1 using sodium bromide as tracer.
The partial recovery of tracer led to uncertain esti-
mates of mean and longest residence times. Nonethe-
less, the approximate results are still helpful to
understand the performance of the filters when loaded
with greywater, i.e. with bark and charcoal removing
more organic matter at start-up than the foam and
sand, especially in combination with the recovery of
the tracer. Bark and charcoal both had a low recovery
of tracer (54 and 52 %, respectively) and long mean
residence times (43 and 16 h, respectively), suggesting
that their high initial removal of organics might be due
to binding of a significant part of the organic load and
delaying the remaining organics sufficiently long for
most of them to be degraded.
4.3 Filter Performance
The decline observed in pH of the greywater passing
through the bark filter is in agreement with Gen-
Fuhrman et al. (2007), who attributed the change in
pH to the release of organic acids from the bark. In the
present experiment, release of substances was ob-
served as a yellow tint to the effluent from the control
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671
bark filter fed with tap water. Another contributor to
the pH decline is probably the production of hydrogen
ions during nitrification of NH4-N to NO3-N (Table 5).
The decrease in EC in the bark and charcoal filter
effluent at the beginning of the experiment may be
attributed to adsorption, as indicated by the tracer
measurements discussed above.
In the bark and charcoal filters, the reduction rate of
BOD5 reached a steady state of 99 % early in the
experiment, probably as a result of adsorption. The
high percentage retention of NaCl (Table 4) and 93 %
of uranin tracer in the bark confirmed its high adsorp-
tion/retention capacity. The initial effective reduction
of organic matter (BOD5 and COD) in bark was also
attributed to adsorption (Ratola et al. 2003). After the
initial period, dominated by physical and chemical
filtration processes, biological activities gradually
took over due to the development of a biofilm (Lens
et al. 1993). Respiration activity in the bark filter
materials increased after start-up (data not shown),
which indicated an increasing biological activity.
Microorganisms available on the bark, as indicted by
the respiration activity in the bark fed with tap water
(data not shown), may have contributed to organic
matter reduction. In addition, the presence of larvae
was observed in the upper 20-cm of the bark filter,
which might have contributed to the high turnover of
organic matter. The larvae were about 5 mm in length
and white in colour and were probably fly larvae. The
observed reduction capacity of organic matter for the
bark filter was in agreement with Lens et al. (1993),
who reported >90 % for BOD5 and >60 % for COD in
Pinus spp. bark loaded at 0.01 m3 m2 day1. Howev-
er, the start-up efficiency of the bark filter in the
present experiment differed from that reported by Lens
et al. (1993), who observed a 3040-day start-up pe-
riod with limited organic matter reduction.
The low reduction of COD in the bark as compared
with BOD5 was not observed with the other filters and
could be explained by washout and release of organic
acids from the bark (Gen-Fuhrman et al. 2007; Rib et
al. 2009). This is in agreement with the 5595-mg COD
L1 in the effluent from bark fed with tap water. When
the COD in the tap water effluent was subtracted from
the COD in effluent from the bark filter fed with artifi-
cial greywater, the mean net COD reduction was 86 %.
Pine bark contains low cellulose and high lignin
content (Cunha-Queda et al. 2007) and has C/N ratios
300:1 to 723:1 as reviewed by Trois and Polster
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Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671
(2007). In spite of its complex structure, bark might be
attacked by lignocellulolytic microbial communities if
soluble, and easily degraded carbon sources are
exhausted (Liu et al. 2011). More recalcitrant material
will probably leach from the filter and can be viewed
as a yellow tint of the effluent (Lens et al. 1993).
Measurements of respiration (data not shown) and
leachate indicated that the bark filter fed with tap
water lost less than 12 % of its dry matter per year.
However, adding a simpler carbon source than lignin
and cellulose (such as greywater) is expected to reduce
the dry matter loss as microorganisms tend to utilise
the easily degraded substrate before attacking the bark
(Liu et al. 2011).
The COD reduction by the charcoal filter (94 %)
was close to the 8588 % reported by Ahsan et al.
(2001). They used charcoal made from coconut shells
and explained the high COD reduction by adsorption.
The activated charcoal used in the present study orig-
inated from black coal and had a large specific surface
area which was available for adsorption, as confirmed
by the low recovery in the tracer measurements
(Tables 1 and 4).
Foam performed as a typical biofilter, i.e. it needed
a long start-up period (35 days) to develop a biofilm
with sufficient capacity to degrade and consume the
organic matter. Nonetheless, the foam material
reached a much lower BOD5 steady-state reduction
than bark, charcoal and sand. The structure of the
foam, which is characterised by closely connected
pores (11.6 mm pore opening size) that form contin-
uous flow path/channels (Fig. 6), led to a rapid flow of
liquid through the foam immediately after feeding
filters with greywater. This in turn led to a limited
1-1.6 mm
Fig. 6 Pores shape and structure of the foam filter
3667
biofilm formation, which was observed to be present
mainly in the lower part of the filter. The limited
distribution of the biofilm most likely restricted the
degradation of organic matter. Moreover, high BOD5
levels (300 mg L1) were measured towards the end of
the experiment in the effluent from the foam filter,
probably due to sloughing of biofilm material from
the lower surface of filter (visual observation) and
breakthrough of organic matter. The reduction rate of
organic matter achieved by the foam filter was lower
than that reported by Guo et al. (2010) for an aerobic
moving sponge bioreactor filled with 1 cm3 polyure-
thane foam cubes. The foam cubes achieved 92 % re-
duction in DOC during 8 h of retention time and
continuous mixing in the reactor. The reactor conditions
of Guo et al. (2010), with upflow regime and long
retention time with continuously submerged foam sur-
face, probably enabled larger biofilm coverage resulting
in higher degradation capacity of organic matter.
The performance of the sand filters tested was
less efficient than that of a sand filter loaded at
0.067 m3 m2 day1 by Pell and Nyberg (1989),
which achieved a mean COD reduction of 91 %.
Compared with the 0.21-mm effective particle size
used in that study, the large effective size of sand
used in the present experiment (1.4 mm) provided
much less specific surface area to host a biofilm,
which might explain the lower capacity for reduc-
ing organic matter. Moreover, the sand filter used
by Pell and Nyberg (1989) was deeper (0.75 m)
than that used here (0.60 m), which may also have
contributed to the difference.
The performance of bark and charcoal filters in
reducing MBAS agreed with the BOD5 reduction as
expected. MBAS, ionic surfactants with negatively
charged organic complex of hydrocarbons containing
10 to 20 carbon atoms adhering to sulfonate
(SO3)Na+ ion (APHA 1995), are biodegradable and
should thus be included in the BOD5 analysis. The
MBAS reduction in the charcoal filter agreed well
with that reported by Purakayastha et al. (2005), who
found 96 % anionic surfactant reduction using granu-
lar activated charcoal. The foam and sand filters
reduced MBAS better than BOD5 at the start of the
experiment, 45 and 20 % higher MBAS reduction, re-
spectively, compared with BOD5, probably because of
the high degradability of MBAS. However, foam was
less efficient and gave more variable effects than the other
filters. The successive development of the biofilm in
 Author's personal copy
3668
foam filters was probably the reason why MBAS reduc-
tion stabilised at later stages. Reduction of MBAS by the
foam filter (73 %) was less efficient than the 85 %
reduction reported by Baldez et al. (2008), whereas re-
duction of MBAS by the sand filter (96 %) was more
efficient than the 69 % reported by Suleiman et al. (2010).
The charcoal filter was more efficient in reducing
PO4-P than Tot-P. This might be due to higher adsorp-
tion of mineral PO4-P compared with organic forms of
phosphate on charcoal. The charcoal used in this study
was more efficient in PO4-P reduction than the coco-
nut charcoal used by Ahsan et al. (2001): 98 % reduc-
tion compared with 1117 %. Charcoal used in this
study is activated carbon; activated carbons have both
high specific surface and porosity area (Downie et al.
2009), thus enabling higher adsorption. The perfor-
mance of the foam filter was close to that reported
for the polyurethane foam used by Guo et al. (2010),
which achieved about 60 % Tot-P. The high mean and
standard deviation of Tot-P found in foam effluent in
the present study could be attributed to sloughing of
biofilm material containing phosphorus. The PO4-P
reduction (83 %) and Tot-P reduction by the sand filter
(78 %) was higher than the 58 % Tot-P as reported by
Suleiman et al. (2010). Adsorption is the principal
mechanism for PO4-P reduction in sand filter (Pell
and Nyberg 1989), and the capacity of the sand to
bind phosphorus depends on pH and the Ca, Fe and Al
content in the sand (Arias et al. 2001). However, the
analysis done in this study was not enough to explain
the mechanisms of phosphorus reduction.
Aerobic conditions prevailed in the bark filter, as
indicated by nitrification of most of the mineralised
nitrogen, in combination with low Tot-N reduction
capacity (19 %). Relatively low Tot-N reduction in
bark (35 %) was also reported by Lens et al. (1993).
In contrast, the reduction of Tot-N in charcoal was
high (98 %). Different hypotheses can be suggested
to explain the low Tot-N in the effluent from charcoal
filter, such as adsorption of organic nitrogen, mineral-
ization of organic nitrogen into NH4/NH3 followed by
adsorption of gaseous ammonia or ammonium ions
(Rodrigues et al. 2007) or emission of NH3 gas. How-
ever, none of these hypotheses were tested during this
experiment. Effluent from the foam filter contained
both mineralised and non-mineralised forms of nitro-
gen. The presence of the non-mineralised form of
nitrogen in the effluent from foam was expected and
was probably due to the short retention time and the
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671
low reduction capacity of BOD5 and COD. The short
retention time also resulted in low nitrification effi-
ciency, as indicated by the high effluent NH4-N level
of all the filters. Similarly, Guo et al. (2010) reported
low reduction of Tot-N (11 %) in low density poly-
urethane foam. Nitrification of nitrogen occurred in
sand filters as well; 76 % of the Tot-N fed into sand
filter transformed into NO3-N by nitrification activi-
ties. Although not as distinct as in the bark filter, the
pH in the greywater dropped slightly when passing the
sand filters which indicated nitrification activity. Orig-
inally, pH in sand material was 7.9 due to the presence
of 2 % lime in the sand which buffered the pH de-
crease due to nitrification.
Denitrification did not seem to occur in sand filters
which can be confirmed by the low reduction of Tot-N
(5 %). No anaerobic condition in sand or the other
filters was expected to occur due to the fact the all
columns were exposed to air from the upper and lower
ends and that air was compressed in the pipes feeding
the filters to discharge any remaining wastewater.
The TTFC reduction in the bark filter was higher
than the faecal coliform reduction reported by Lens et
al. (1993). The reduction of microorganisms in bark
may be explained by adsorption (Lewis et al. 1995),
release of phenols (Rib et al. 2009), which might be
toxic to microorganisms, and competition by other
microorganisms. A similar rate of TTFC reduction to
that reported by Torrens et al. (2009) was obtained in
our sand filter (91 %) which can be explained by the
low hydraulic loading rates in both studies, 0.03 and
0.04 m3 m2 day1, respectively. The effluent from
charcoal, foam and sand contained about 2 log10 En-
terococcus, which thus must be explained by growth
within the filters from non-detectable levels (10 CFU/
mL) to levels that could be analysed by the method
used, as Enterococcus sp. were not detected in the
greywater inflow samples analysed. The seed organisms
for this regrowth probably originated from the wastewa-
ter inflow, as regrowth occurred in all filter materials
except bark, but might also have come from non-sterile
handling of the filter materials. Also, Desmarais et al.
(2002) and Yamahara et al. (2009) have reported re-
growth of Enterococcus sp. under similar conditions,
i.e. in unseeded sand and soil wetted intermittently and
supplied with nutrients at temperature range 2028C.
In terms of the different performance parameters,
especially the reduction of BOD5, MBAS and patho-
gen indicators, the bark and charcoal materials seem to
 Author's personal copy
Water Air Soil Pollut (2012) 223:36573671
be suitable for use in filters for treating greywater.
Before they are implemented in full-scale systems,
the performance of bark and charcoal filters subjected
to varying hydraulic and organic loads needs to be
verified, as well as their long-term performance.
4.4 Suitability of Treated Greywater for Irrigation
The use of urban wastewater for irrigation is gaining
attention due to increasing scarcity in freshwater sour-
ces (Scott et al. 2004). Different factors determine the
usability of wastewater for irrigation: salinity, nutrient
(P and N), Na, Cl, B and trace metal concentrations
(Ayers and Westcot 1994) and microbial quality
(WHO 2006) as well as aesthetic issues such as emis-
sion of offensive odours related to anaerobic degrada-
tion of organic matters. Salinity represented by EC of
greywater effluent from all filters lies in the range 0
3,000 S cm1 which is usually found in irrigation
water (Ayers and Westcot 1994). However, salinity
issue in agricultural systems does not only depend on
irrigation water, but also on other factors such as pH,
EC and organic content of the soil as well as type of
crop to be irrigated (Ayers and Westcot 1994).
The Tot-N and NO3-N of the effluent from bark,
foam and sand were higher compared to 010 mg L1
usually found in irrigation water (Ayers and Westcot
1994). However, farmers appreciate the nutrient value
of the wastewater (Scott et al. 2004) as the nitrogen
will replace the chemical fertiliser, thus minimising
the need for fertiliser and thereby reducing costs of
fertiliser and energy required for its application. How-
ever, if much of nitrogen-rich water is applied, a risk
of pollution or eutrophication might arise if the surplus
water flows to surface or ground water, but with a
well-managed water saving irrigation system such as
drip irrigation, the risk of nitrogen leaching to ground
water should be low and the nitrogen be a pure asset.
Normally, irrigation water is scarce and therefore not
applied in larger amounts than necessary to compen-
sate for evapotranspiration. Evaluation of sodium, so-
dium adsorption rate, chloride, boron and trace metal
concentrations of the effluent water from the filters
was not tackled in this study.
The TTCF analyses indicated a 12 log10 reduction
in bacteria in all filters except for the foam. As E. coli
was included in the group of organisms analysed, the
results indicate that at least some reduction can be
expected for E. coli in the filters. E. coli is probably
3669
the most commonly used indicator for the presence of
pathogenic bacteria, which under environmental con-
ditions is expected to reflect feacal pathogens (WHO
2006). Drip irrigation of crops, mulch covering of soil,
crop selection and food processing (WHO 2006) can
also compliment greywater treatment to reduce health
risks associated with pathogenic contamination by
greywater.
Bark and charcoal filters showed the best perfor-
mance of the four filter materials tested in terms of
BOD5 and MBAS reduction. Therefore, emission of
offensive odours is not likely which makes possible
the storage of the treated greywater.
5 Conclusions
1. Immediately at start-up of the bark and charcoal
filters, BOD5 and MBAS reductions were high.
The start-up reduction of sand filter was somewhat
lower, while that of the polyurethane foam filter
was poor.
2. The bark and charcoal filters were more efficient
than the sand filter in reducing Tot-P, NH4-N and
TTFC, while the foam filter was the least efficient.
3. Bark and charcoal seem to be suitable materials
for use in small-scale filter systems for treating
greywater to irrigation water quality with respect
to BOD5 and MBAS. High concentrations of ni-
trogen in effluent from bark filters can be an
advantage if the effluent is used for irrigation, as
it can replace chemical fertiliser.
Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge the Islamic
Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Swedish Interna-
tional Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swedish
Research Council Formas and the Swedish University of Agri-
cultural Sciences (SLU). Special thanks to Sven Smrs, Dick
Gustafsson and Carl Westberg at the Department of Energy and
Technology for their technical assistance, and Emelie Kjellberg
at the National Veterinary Institute for performing the microbial
analyses.
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