An Investigation into the Use of Biochar as a Media Amendment to Treat Sewage and the Feasibility of Constructed Wetland Ecotechnology in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia

Abstract

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are a particularly attractive option to be applied in Indonesia due to their lower cost. Plants and media are the main factors which determine the effectiveness of the CWs in removing pollutants. Biochar is a potential media amendment for pollutant removal which can be used in subsurface CWs. However, limited information is known about the effectiveness of biochar. In addition, there are still challenges to implement a new technology such as CWs in local communities in Indonesia. The first research question of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of sand media amended with biochar in removing pollutants from secondary clarified wastewater and septage (partially treated waste stored in the septic tank mainly containing liquid). The second research question was to investigate the achievements and the factors influencing the sustainability of existing sanitation and wastewater management technology implemented in the Kupang Municipality in East Nusa Tenggara Province (ENTP) and to assess the proposed use of CWs and their acceptability by Kupang Municipality community stakeholders.