Decolorization of secondary treated water from livestock urine waste

Takigami, Machiko*; Nagasawa, Naotsugu; Hiroki, Akihiro; Kasai, Noboru; Yoshii, Fumio; Tamada, Masao; Takigami, Shoji*; Shibata, Takuya*  ; Aketagawa, Yasushi*; Ozaki, Masuo*

There are many livestock farmers in Gunma Prefecture. Many of the farms are located under Mt. Akagi and Haruna, which attract tourists. Furthermore, rivers around the mountains are source of water supply to metropolitan area. Therefore, the waste treatments are very important. Regulations of smell and COD (chemical oxygen demand) are severe in Gunma Prefecture. Although there is no regulation for color of drain water, color in secondary treated water from livestock urine waste has been one of the major concerns for livestock farmers. The color is a metabolite of microorganisms and not easy to be removed. People have tried to remove the color by ozone treatment, absorption using activated carbon or soils. An absorbent was prepared by radiation grafting; fibers were irradiated with Co -rays and some kinds of monomers were grafted onto the fibers. The absorbent thus prepared were used to decolorize the secondary treated water. The color and COD were removed by the absorbent, however, COD removal was more difficult than decolorization. Degree of grafting (weight increase expressed in % by grafting reaction to initial weight of the fiber), treated water/absorbent ratio, flow rate of treated water, and direction of flow affected color and COD removal. The used absorbent could be used repeatedly after washing.