LYCEUM OF ALABANG

Senior High School Department

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Water makes up nearly 71 percent of the Earth's surface, and the

Philippines alone is considered an archipelago. This indicates that it is
surrounded by many bodies of water. People have a habit of tossing their trash in
the wrong areas, resulting in waste. People would certainly be affected by this.
Garbage thrown into rivers has the potential to clog drains and cause flooding.
When computers become more sophisticated, new ways of conserving the
atmosphere have arisen.

Bokashi balls are one method. “Bokashi” is a Japanese term that means
compost. These balls are a great aid in cleaning rivers and freshwater lakes.
Efficient microorganisms (EM) containing soil balls have been used to enhance
the water quality, and they are used not just in the Philippines but also in other
countries around the world. The mud balls are enriched with EM, which will
slowly degrade when added to rivers or lakes, allowing EM to escape into the
water. EM bokashi mud balls avoid algae from developing and break down any
sludge or silt in the water, making it clean and safe. The bulk of these balls are
made of soil, with a small number of microorganisms that are effective, as well as
clay, ceramic powder, molasses, and rock salt. These are eco-friendly since they
do not contain many additives and absorb pollutants from the water.

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
In addition, EM has been a main component of bokashi compost. Foods
that are normally exempt from aerobic composting, such as meat and dairy
products, can be composted with Bokashi compost. This method of anaerobic
buckets is distinct from the bokashi fertilizer, which was previously identified as
an agroecological technique, even though both use fermentation as well as the
bokashi of interest in this research.

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Senior High School Department
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Background of the Study

There are some ways for having effective water purification: Boiling, there
are some ways for having effective water purification: Boiling, Reverse Osmosis,
Water Chlorination, Distillation, iodine Addition, Solar Purification, Clay Vessel
Filtration, UV Radiation, and Desalination. (AOSmith, 2019).

All the processes mentioned require a lot of time, effort, and equipment to
execute water purification in rivers or ocean. According to Aubrey Yee (2012),
Bokashi is a microorganism mixture that originated in the Far East and is known
as a Bokashi ‘bran.' The origins of Bokashi can be traced back to conventional
Korean farming practices and Dr. Teruo Hiya's discovery of important
microorganisms in the 1980s in Japan. Dr. Higa’s special blend of EM (essential
microorganisms) came out of studying the ways that microorganisms were
beneficial to plant growth and these microorganisms can be use in water
purification.

Micro-organisms are tiny units of life too small to be seen. They are
everywhere in nature: in the air, soil, oceans, rivers, animals, and the human
body. (Bokashi One Micro-Organism, 2014). According to Navio, the micro-
organisms eat the harmful bacteria and will become food for the fishes and shells
(2009). Bokashi is fermented anaerobically means living, active, occurring, or

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
existing in the absence of free oxygen. A bokashi compost system is one of the
simplest ways to divert food waste from landfills.

For improving water quality of small ponds, lakes, and streams, bokashi
balls containing and applied the so-called effective microorganisms (EM), a
mixture of clay, ceramic powder, brown sugar or molasses, and rock salt in a
mixing bowl, After the mixture was shaped into large balls and fermented for
several weeks, a fuzzy white fungus grew on top of it. The balls were thrown into
the river at a rate of one per square meter of river water, and they would dissolve
in six months. In water, EM can restore microbial activity while also consuming
organic matter and nutrients. Furthermore, it will cause the sludge on the pond's
bottom and reduce the amount of sludge there. Bokashi balls are meant to be
used for a longer period. They make their way down into the sludge and are
extremely successful in the lower levels of the waterbody. (EMNZ, 2021)

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Theoretical Framework

Water purification and filtering have a long history that is intertwined

with the history of water. As the population increased, water became increasingly
polluted, necessitating the development of a demand for pure, safe drinking
water. Although the development of the best water purifiers took a long time, its
significance was recognized.

According to Wikipedia, ancient Sanskrit and Egyptian writings

describe practices for keeping drinking water pure. Various methods were
specified in the Sushruta Samhita (3rd or 4th century CE), including boiling and
heating under the sun. Water should also be filtered through sand and coarse
gravel, according to the document.

It is also worth noting that cultures thrived only in the presence of

water, and water was a major source of conflict between prehistoric man's tribes.
Water quality is also a major concern in modern times.

To maximize the satisfaction of different industries, water quality has

gained a lot of attention in allocation processes. Pollutant impurities, on the other
hand, obstructing sufficient water supply have a negative impact on water quality
and are toxic to living species, including aquatic life. Various chemical and
biological therapies are available to reduce water contamination levels, but the

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
advent of an amazing technology of a multi culture of anaerobic and aerobic
beneficial microorganisms is currently gaining traction.

The capacity of ‘‘Effective Microorganisms (EM, in the form of mudballs or

Bokashi-balls)" to clear waters of cyanobacteria was tested in controlled
experiments. EM-mudball suspensions up to 1 g l-1 were found to be ineffective
in reducing cyanobacterial growth. Within 4 weeks, cyanobacterial chlorophyll-
a(Chl-a) concentrations increased from &120 to325–435 lg l-1 in all controls and
EM-mudball treatments up to 1 g l-1. When 42.5 g of EM-mudballs were applied
to 25 l of lake water containing cyanobacteria, no reduction of cyanobacteria was
observed when compared to untreated controls.

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Conceptual Framework

INPUT OUTPUT
PROCESS

1) The demographical
profile of respondents.
Feedback Loop
1.1 – Age
1.2 – Sex
1.3 – Social status - Laboratory
2) What are the levels of Figure 1. Concept Experiment
effectivity of Bokashi
balls as water purifier? Map The Effectivity of
- Survey
3.1 – Ground water Bokashi Balls to
3.2 – Sewage Purify Water.
- Questionnaire
3.3 – Rainwater
3.4 – Agricultural
wastewater
3) What is the overall Research Paradigm
effectivity of Bokashi
balls as water purifier?

The chart revealed the

progressive sequence of how
the researchers obtained the result of the study. The researchers
used the Demographic Profile of the Respondents. This allowed
the researchers to determine the size of potential respondents
and the characteristics of the population. Then, the researchers
conducted a survey to the STEM students of Lyceum of Alabang to gain their
opinions about the effectiveness of Bokashi balls in purifying water. Finally, the
researchers gathered the students' opinions regarding the study.

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 LYCEUM OF ALABANG
Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to know ‘The Effectivity of Bokashi Balls to Purify Water’.

1) The demographical profile of respondents.

1.1 – Age
1.2 – Sex
1.3 – Social status

2) What are the levels of effectivity of Bokashi balls as water purifier?

3.1 – Ground water
3.2 – Sewage
3.3 – Rainwater
3.4 – Agricultural wastewater

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Senior High School Department
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3) What is the overall effectivity of Bokashi balls as water purifier?

Scopes and Delimitations

The focus of the study is to determine the efficacy of the bokashi balls as
a water purifier by doing trials in different types of water, as well as the materials
needed to make Bokashi Balls. This study's scope includes the comparison of
the samples of the following: ground water, rainwater, sewage and agricultural
wastewater. The researchers decided to conduct the study in Tunasan-Cuyab
River. 

The information acquired from the questionnaires provided by the

respondents is used as a base for the data to be used in the study.  The target

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
respondents are only the residents who live near the said place. The research
will not cover aspects of any cultural and other type of bias, language restrictions,
household, or personal emergencies. If one of the residents did not understand
the question due to the use of the English language, we will interpret the
questions in Filipino. Residents who did not submit answers to the given
questionnaires will not be included in the scope of the survey as we need a
detailed response from everyone to create a general conclusion.

Significance of the Study

This study aims to contribute to the following benefactors:

TO THE RESIDENTS: The primary benefactors of this study are residents

staying in rural areas, deprived of clean water supply. With the help of Bokashi
Balls, this method is also cheap and eco-friendly, which means that everyone will
have access to the product.

TO THE RESEARCHERS: The results of this study will serve as a reference to

future researchers taking consideration of doing the same or similar study.

TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY: The findings of this study will benefit those in the
community because it will give them awareness of the effectiveness of said

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
product, should this research be successful. It will not only benefit the residents
or respondents included in the research, but also the environment in general.

Definition of Terms

The following words are the definitions from the research title. The
researchers also used the words throughout the study that may support the
readers’ and future researchers’ knowledge.

Agroecological Technique: The process of agriculturally creating products.

Bokashi Balls: The main topic of this research.
Contamination Levels: It shows how contaminated a body of water is.
Deprived: Residents lack enough clean water supply.
Effectivity: It is used in how beneficial the research of Bokashi Balls is.
Efficient microorganisms: A mixture of different substances, or specifically,
microorganisms present in Bokashi balls.

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 LYCEUM OF ALABANG
Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Microbial Activity: The process of Bokashi balls purifying the body of water and
increasing nutrients needed for cleansing the waste.
Pollutant Impurities: These are the waste chemicals and substances present in
the bodies of water.
Purifier: A medium used to clean sewage and other water waste systems.
Water Quality: It is the cleanliness and edibility of water supplies.

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Foreign Literature

32 percent of the land mass in the Philippines is utilized for farming. The
essential crops are corn, rice grains, sugar cane, root crops, fruits, vegetables
and rubber trees, urbanization, expanded population, farming and
industrialization have all decreased the quality of water within the Philippines.
(Marrone, 2016)

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 LYCEUM OF ALABANG
Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Rinkesh (2018) stated that one cause of contamination is the dirty water
delivered by families that contained materials, chemicals, etc. The water carries
hurtful viruses that can cause genuine wellbeing issues for individuals living close
the body of water. Microorganisms in water are known to be causes of a few
exceptionally dangerous infections and ended up being the homes for other
animals that act like carriers. These carriers deliver these illnesses by means of
different types of contact onto a person. A really common case of this handle
would be Malaria.

According to Nishio (1996), Bokashi may be a conventional

agroecological method first created in East Asia and presently utilized broadly
over Asia and Latin America. While composting frequently requires expanded
maturation times, frequent air circulation and hydration, and expansive spaces,
bokashi matures in around two weeks and is made in smaller heaps for an easier
administration. The development stage of Bokashi to cultivate useful microbial
development, breaks down supplements to bio-accessible shapes, and forms
materials so that they can no longer attract bugs and bacteria.

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Local Literature

According to Officials of the Bulacan environment and natural

resource office (Penro) of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) recently started using “bokashi balls” to rehabilitate the
Bocaue River. Also known as “mabuhay balls,” bokashi is a Japanese water
rehabilitation technology wherein fist-sized mudballs are scattered in the river
system to reduce its pollutants. (2017)

Lingat (2019), Bulacan Penro chief, explained that the mudballs contain
molasses, rice hulls or “ipa” and an effective microorganism (EM) solution, which

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
helps promote the growth of good bacteria to consume pollutants in the
river. “They are basically probiotics, able to clean up one cubic meter of water
each,” he pointed out. Results of water quality test done by the DENR
Environmental Management Bureau showed that the Bocaue River has a
dissolved oxygen level of 0.22 mg/L, much lower than the standard of at least 1.0
mg/L to support fish and other aquatic life. 

Water contamination, according to Rhonda Marrone (2016), is one of the

big issues plaguing our local waters. According to the Water Environment
Partnership in Asia (WEPA), agriculture covers 32 percent of the Philippines' land
mass, or approximately 96,000 square kilometers.

Synthesis of Literature

(SUMMARY OF LOCAL AND FOREIGN LITERATURE)

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Foreign Studies

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Local Studies

Sources of water in the Philippines suffer from a range of contaminants.

Industrial water waste contains chemical pollutants such as chromium, cadmium,
lead, mercury, and cyanide. These pollutants persist over long periods of time
and are often referred to as stock pollutants, but their origins from industrial
sources also allow them to be characterized as point-source pollution. Other
harmful wastes, such as decayed plants, livestock manure, dead animals, soil
runoff, and residue, are organic wastes that have contributed to the Philippines’
pollution problem. Because they do not originate from industrial sources, these
specific pollutants are commonly called nonpoint source pollution. (Andrews,
2018)

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

The scope of water scarcity in the Philippines still rests on systemic

problems brought forth at the onset of baselining the nation’s status in relation to
UN MDGs by the World Bank in 2003. Several major and tangential issues
remain the foremost, of which access to clean water is important to population
health. Ranked number 5 in the overall causes of death for the nation in 2010
analysis was preventable diarrhea attributed to unsanitary water at a rate of
354.5 per 100,000 population (DOH, 2012).

According to World Bank Group (WBG, 2015), rural sanitation has

remained as the subsector where access is low, and progress was expected to
rely on household self-investments, government financing for communications
campaigns, operational expenses and support aimed for the poor require scale-
up to reach the target goal of removing waste in the future years.

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Synthesis of Studies

(SUMMARY OF LOCAL AND FOREIGN STUDIES)

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

(WHAT TYPE RESEARCH DESIGN AND TYPE OF RESEARCH IS TO

BE USE IN THE STUDY)

Respondents of the Study

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
The respondents used in the study are the Grade 12 - Senior High School
Students from Lyceum of Alabang. The researchers chose Grade 12 students for
respondents for the researchers thought that they should remember the
relevance of Filipino women to the Philippine revolution. They chose students
from the Academic Track as TECH-VOC Track students’ (ICT, HE, IA) subjects
are more focused on hands-on activities about their individual strands. The
chosen respondents of the researchers are the students in the strands of
Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), Science, Technology, Engineer,
Mathematics (STEM), Accounting and Business Management (ABM) and
General Academic Strand (GAS).

Sampling Technique

A stratified sampling procedure was used for selecting the participants in

this study. Stratified sampling is a method of sampling from a population that can
be partitioned into subpopulations. In statistical surveys, when subpopulations
within an overall population vary, it could be advantageous to sample each
subpopulation independently.
(SAMPLING TECHNIQUE IN WHICH HOW RESEARCHER BE ABLE TO
SELECT THEIR RESPONDENTS)

Research Instrument

The research instrument that the researchers came up with was a

qualitative checklist type questionnaire. It was a qualitative questionnaire

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
because answers may vary among different respondents. It was divided into
three parts, the first part being the one where the respondents will put their
identification (though the name was optional), the second part which was the
table of questions itself, and the third where they sign. The researchers chose a
qualitative essay as they can further evaluate the respondents' level of
awareness but not really take up too much of their time to answer.

(INSTRUMENT TO BE USED TO GATHER DATA)

Data Gathering

The method used in gathering data was a checklist survey. The survey
was used to collect the demographic data of the students' level of awareness to
the Filipina heroes of the Philippine revolution and the data was then analyzed,
classified, and interpreted. Since the research was an awareness study, the
qualitative survey was the most accurate method in gathering the data.

The researchers distributed survey questionnaires to the respondents,

limited to 288 Academic Track students chosen through simple random
sampling. These respondents consisted of Grade 12 Senior High School
students of Lyceum of Alabang.

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(EXPLAIN THE PROCESS OF GATHERING DATA)

Statistical Treatment of Data

The data to be gathered by the researchers are categorized according to

the problems formulated in the research design. For the purpose of presenting,
summarizing and analyzing clear and precise data, the following statistical
treatments are to be used.

1. Slovin’s Formula. The researcher used Slovin’s formula to determine the

number of a sample from the population. The sample of the study is 288.

n
n=
1+ ne

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 LYCEUM OF ALABANG
Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
2. Percentage. The percentage is used to interpret the data gathered from the
responses of the respondents on the questionnaire according to its profile
variables and also the perspectives of the respondent to the topic.

f
ρ= x 100
n

The decimal is moved in two decimal places for it to be converted to a

percentage.

Where:

P = Percentage

F = Frequency

N = Number of respondents

100 = Constant Value

3. Weighted Mean. This is treated statistically using the weighted mean formula.
This statistical technique was used to determine and measure the average
responses of the different options provided in the various parts of the
questionnaire used. This formula is:

x=√ Σfx ÷ n

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Where:

X = weighted mean
Σfx = the sum of the products of f and n (f is the frequency of each weight
and x as the weight of each operation)
N = the total number of respondents

CHAPTER 4
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter includes a summary of findings, conclusions, and

recommendations of the study.

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Conclusion

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Recommendations

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

INTERENT / ARTICLES

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

APPENDICES

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

SURVEY LETTER

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

CURRICULUM VITAE

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

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Senior High School Department
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

DOCUMENTATION

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