The effectiveness of Nipah fiber biofilter against tofu liquid waste in reducing COD, BOD and TSS Levels

Abstract

The tofu industry during the processing produces waste in both in liquid and solid forms. Solid waste is usually used as animal feed, fertilizer, tempe or crackers. Liquid waste is used as nata de soya, paper, bioplastics, biogas, electrical energy and organic fertilizers. Small-scale tofu industry rarely utilizes tofu liquid waste and some do not carry out processing. Tofu waste contains organic substances and high suspended solids that can pollute the environment. Therefore, there is a need for waste treatment using an aerobic biofilter. The operating Hydraulic retention time was 5, 10 and 15 hours, the filter height was 135 cm and the nipah fiber height was 50 cm. The results of the biofilm attached to the biofilter reactor and palm fiber were successfully formed a brownish red biofilm which is a colony of microorganisms. The optimum time of tofu liquid waste showed a residence time of 15 hours, so that tofu liquid waste meets the quality standards based on the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Indonesian No.5 of 2014. The effectiveness of the biofilter reactor in reducing COD is 94.24%, BOD is 95.14% and TSS is 68%.