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Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter
A Dissertation Submitted To The Department Of Environmental Science In Partial Fulfilment Of The Requirement For The Award MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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KNUST
2026
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| _version_ | 1869483627392270336 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Doku, Ebenezer |
| author_browse | Doku, Ebenezer |
| author_facet | Doku, Ebenezer |
| author_sort | Doku, Ebenezer |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | A Dissertation Submitted To The Department Of Environmental Science In Partial Fulfilment Of The Requirement
For The Award
MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:ir.knust.edu.gh:123456789/17582 |
| institution | KNUST (Ghana) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-07-01T04:02:00.386Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from KNUSTSpace — Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (Ghana) |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | KNUST |
| publisherStr | KNUST |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | KNUSTSpace — Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (Ghana) |
| spelling | oai:ir.knust.edu.gh:123456789/17582 Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter Doku, Ebenezer A Dissertation Submitted To The Department Of Environmental Science In Partial Fulfilment Of The Requirement For The Award MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE An emerging group of pollutants known as pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are present in effluents from pharmaceutical companies. Most pharmaceutical companies in Ghana release their effluents directly into nearby public drainage systems, without any form of treatment and this has dire public health concerns. However, energy consuming effluent treatments plants are financially unsustainable for small scale pharmaceutical companies so cost effective measures to manage effluents are required. This project investigated the potential of the biosand filter to treat pharmaceutical effluent as a cheaper alternative to conventional methods. Two filters were built and run according to standard design criteria. Removal of four common active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) i.e. ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, cefuroxime axetil, amoxicillin trihydrate and diclofenac sodium were monitored. The filters were fed pharmaceutical effluent dosed with 1g of each API. The results showed that the biosand filter was efficient in removing APIs from the effluent water. The average removal of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, cefuroxime axetil, amoxicillin trihydrate and diclofenac sodium at the recommended flow rate were 93.32%, 91.05%, 89.33% and 92.42% respectively. The removal of the APIs by the biosand filters may have been achieved through a combination of mechanisms like settlement, sand straining and charcoal adsorption. KNUST 2026-02-02T16:08:36Z 2026-02-02T16:08:36Z 2019-02 Thesis https://ir.knust.edu.gh/handle/123456789/17582 en application/pdf KNUST |
| spellingShingle | Doku, Ebenezer Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter |
| title | Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter |
| title_full | Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter |
| title_fullStr | Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter |
| title_short | Characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter |
| title_sort | characterisation and treatment of pharmaceutical effluent using a biosand filter |
| url | https://ir.knust.edu.gh/handle/123456789/17582 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dokuebenezer characterisationandtreatmentofpharmaceuticaleffluentusingabiosandfilter |