Efficiency of Organic Waste Effective Microorganisms (EM) Ball For Wastewater Treatment in Ubon Ratchathani province

Abstract

This study investigated the wastewater treatment efficiency of EM Ball (EMB) on different raw materials. The experiment was divided into two sets which were wastewater from the first pond of the wastewater treatment system at Ubon Ratchathani University and sewage flooding from a village in Warinchamrap Municipality during November 2017. Each wastewater sample was divided into 6 buckets. The first bucket had no EMB. The second bucket contained regular EMB (no organic waste added). The 3^rd 4^th 5^th and 6^th bucket contained EMB mixed with food waste including vegetable scraps, fruit peel and water hyacinth. The mixing ratio was to add 10 kg of waste topped up from the regular formula. Water qualities were analyzed before treatment and at days 3, 7 and 14 after the addition of EMB. The parameters studied included Temperature, pH, Suspended Solids (SS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). The results showed that COD and BOD efficacy improved in both wastewater samples. For the sewage flooding the best COD treatment was regular formula EMB (70.8%). Both of the fruit peel and water hyacinth EMB had the best BOD treatment at 80.0%. For influent from the treatment ponds, it was found that fruit peel EMB was the best COD treatment (76.2%) and the best BOD treatment was fruit peel and water hyacinth EBM at 80.7%. In comparison with the natural microbial wastewater treatment in non-EMB control tanks, EMB is more effective in treating wastewater than allowing natural treatment process. Further study should be focused on the best proportion of fruit peel and water hyacinth EMB formulation and whether to use both types of mixing to observe what proportion of the treatment is most effective for the efficiency of EMB over a long period.