Abstract Global microbial water contamination affects 1.8 billion people, necessitating efficient and sustainable treatment methods. This study developed a cost‐effective approach using agro‐industrial wood chip biochar as a filtration medium for real world stream water treatment. Three modifications: Base‐modified ( BMB ), acid‐modified ( AMB ), and arginine‐modified ( ArMB ) biochar were evaluated against an original biochar ( OB ) as a control. All biochars were tested in a simplified glass column under continuous flow conditions and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ( FTIR ), X‐ray diffraction ( XRD ), and scanning electron microscopy ( SEM ). FTIR results showed that BMB possessed significantly higher concentrations of oxygenated functional groups ( OH and COO − ) and stronger aromatic CC intensity than other biochars. XRD analysis indicated elevated organic content and increased calcite formation in BMB , reflected by an intensified background between 28 and 43° (2θ). SEM analysis indicated noticeable changes in surface morphology and apparent pore development in modified biochars compared to the control. Microbiological analysis of untreated stream water exceeded 1100 MPN /100 mL coliform. The modified biochars achieved substantial removal after 5 days of treatment: 97% coliform, 97.4% COD, and 93.3% BOD 5 , followed by regenerated biochar (86% coliform, 88% COD, and 79% BOD 5 ), GAC (75% coliform, 82% COD, and 78% BOD 5 ) and sand filtration (34% coliform, 28% COD, and 37% BOD 5 ). Over 10 days, COD and BOD 5 removals slightly increased (97.8% and 93.7%), while coliform removal remained stable. This study demonstrates the simultaneous removal of microbial and organic pollutants from complex stream water using modified biochars, proving their potential as high‐performance and multifunctional alternatives for sustainable water remediation.
Khalil et al. (Thu,) studied this question.