| Summary: | The irresponsible disposal of untreated wastewater into waters, soil and groundwater
results in polluted water resources. Moreover, nutrients such as phosphorus have become culprits
of concern in accelerating eutrophication. Besides, this issue could cause water poisoning and
the degradation of recreational opportunities. Therefore, for justifying this problem, it is
important to understand the quantity of phosphorus (P) flows by using recycled concrete
aggregate (RCA) as filter materials. RCA used as a filter system has emerged as an alternative
technology for phosphorus removal. This can overcome the problem of construction site waste
by converting the waste into valuable products. Thus, this study aims to investigate the physical
and chemical characteristics of RCA that influenced adsorption of P and the percentage of
phosphorus removal from synthetic wastewater by using two different sizes of RCA. A total of
five vertical recycled concrete aggregate filter was designed. The samples taken from influent
and effluent were tested once a week and analyzed to determine pH and percentage removal
phosphorus. RCA was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energydispersive
X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) testing to determine chemical composition. The results
show that RCA primarily contained aluminium, calcium, and magnesium that could enhanced
the phosphorus adsorption. The RCA with size 5 to 10 mm is shown to have high potential to
remove phosphorus up to 99.57%. The higher the size of RCA, the higher percentage of
phosphorus removal. In conclusion, RCA has the potential to remove phosphorus from
wastewater.
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