scholarly journals Wastewater reuse for irrigation and seawater intrusion: evaluation of salinity effects on soils in Cyprus

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Kathijotes ◽  
Charalambos Panayiotou

Climate change and the continuous population growth increase the demand for water, which in arid and semiarid regions, like the Mediterranean, is considered a limited resource. Future demands will not be met by traditional water resources like surface and groundwater. In order to handle increased water demand, the treated wastewater originating from municipal wastewater treatment plants is offered to farmers for agricultural irrigation. Over pumping of fresh groundwater creates seawater intrusion that causes various problems, besides others, to the quality of recycled water used for agricultural purposes. The effects on soils irrigated with saline water are investigated. Actual investigations were carried out in land irrigated with salinity-affected wastewater and non-irrigated land nearby. Soil profile analyses are demonstrated and compared, showing very interesting results and adverse effects on soil resources. Irrigation with saline waters even at slightly above recommended values can have severe effects on soil resources. Various remediation scenarios for preventing seawater intrusion, as well for mitigation or control of soil salinity problems, are also suggested in this study. This case study was carried in the Larnaca district in Cyprus.

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 79-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Economopoulou ◽  
A.P. Economopoulos

This paper presents a methodology that uses a knowledge base and inference procedures for developing rational wastewater management schemes for small to medium size communities with emphasis in the protection of human health, the reuse of treated wastewater, and the pollution minimization of water receivers. The system provides an optimal year-round treatment/reuse/disposal plan, which maximizes the wastewater reuse for irrigation, meets the applicable minimum municipal wastewater treatment requirements and observes the water quality standards of receivers with the minimum treatment costs. The solution is dynamic in the sense that varying monthly design values can be assigned to the input variables used in the computation of irrigation requirements, assimilative capacity of receivers and performance of natural systems. The above procedure shows that the use of multiple receivers over the year is often highly advantageous; combining for example the increased treatment efficiency and reuse potential for irrigation during summer with the increased assimilative capacity of a river during winter. The expert system incorporates a number of design and ambient quality models, for which graphical solutions have been developed, so as to enable manual application if desired. The entire procedure is implemented in an integrated computer program that facilitates and refines problem solution. The expert system provides interactive guidance for collecting the necessary field information. Finally, the results of a case study for the management of wastewaters from the six communities of the Municipality of Keramoti are presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
Magdalena Domańska ◽  
Anna Boral ◽  
Kamila Hamal ◽  
Magdalena Kuśnierz ◽  
Janusz Łomotowski ◽  
...  

AbstractThe increasingly stringent requirements for wastewater treatment enforce the adoption of technologies that reduce pollution and minimize waste production. By combining the typical activated sludge process with membrane filtration, biological membrane reactors (MBR) offer great technological potential in this respect. The paper presents the principles and effectiveness of using an MBR at the Głogów Małopolski operation. Physicochemical tests of raw and treated wastewater as well as microscopic analyses with the use of the FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) method were carried out. Moreover, the level of electric energy consumption during the operation of the wastewater treatment plant and problems related to fouling were also discussed. A wastewater quality analysis confirmed the high efficiency of removing organic impurities (on average 96% in case of BOD5 and 94% in case of COD) and suspension (on average 93%).


Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
I-Tae Kim ◽  
Young-Seok Yoo ◽  
Young-Han Yoon ◽  
Ye-Eun Lee ◽  
Jun-Ho Jo ◽  
...  

The development of cost-effective methods, which generate minimal chemical wastewater, for methanol production is an important research goal. In this study, treated wastewater (TWW) was utilized as a culture solution for methanol production by mixed methanotroph species as an alternative to media prepared from commercial or chemical agents, e.g., nitrate mineral salts medium. Furthermore, a realistic alternative for producing methanol in wastewater treatment plants using biogas from anaerobic digestion was proposed. By culturing mixed methanotroph species with nitrate and phosphate-supplemented TWW in municipal wastewater treatment plants, this study demonstrates, for the first time, the application of biogas generated from the sludge digester of municipal wastewater treatment plants. NaCl alone inhibited methanol dehydrogenase and the addition of 40 mM formate as an electron donor increased methanol production to 6.35 mM. These results confirmed that this practical energy production method could enable cost-effective methanol production. As such, methanol produced in wastewater treatment plants can be used as an eco-friendly energy and carbon source for biological denitrification, which can be an alternative to reducing the expenses required for the waste water treatment process.


2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 1179-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Martin Ruel ◽  
J.-M. Choubert ◽  
H. Budzinski ◽  
C. Miège ◽  
M. Esperanza ◽  
...  

The next challenge of wastewater treatment is to reliably remove micropollutants at the microgram per litre range. During the present work more than 100 substances were analysed through on-site mass balances over 19 municipal wastewater treatment lines. The most relevant substances according to their occurrence in raw wastewater, in treated wastewater and in sludge were identified, and their fate in wastewater treatment processes was assessed. About half of priority substances of WFD were found at concentrations higher than 0.1 μg/L in wastewater. For 26 substances, potential non-compliance with Environmental Quality Standard of Water Framework Directive has been identified in treated wastewater, depending on river flow. Main concerns are for Cd, DEHP, diuron, alkylphenols, and chloroform. Emerging substances of particular concern are by-products, organic chemicals (e.g. triclosan, benzothiazole) and pharmaceuticals (e.g. ketoprofen, diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine). About 80% of the load of micropollutants was removed by conventional activated sludge plants, but about two-thirds of removed substances were mainly transferred to sludge.


Membranes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaqi Yang ◽  
Mathias Monnot ◽  
Lionel Ercolei ◽  
Philippe Moulin

Wastewater reuse as a sustainable, reliable and energy recovery concept is a promising approach to alleviate worldwide water scarcity. However, the water reuse market needs to be developed with long-term efforts because only less than 4% of the total wastewater worldwide has been treated for water reuse at present. In addition, the reclaimed water should fulfill the criteria of health safety, appearance, environmental acceptance and economic feasibility based on their local water reuse guidelines. Moreover, municipal wastewater as an alternative water resource for non-potable or potable reuse, has been widely treated by various membrane-based treatment processes for reuse applications. By collecting lab-scale and pilot-scale reuse cases as much as possible, this review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the membrane-based treatment processes, mainly focused on the hydraulic filtration performance, contaminants removal capacity, reuse purpose, fouling resistance potential, resource recovery and energy consumption. The advances and limitations of different membrane-based processes alone or coupled with other possible processes such as disinfection processes and advanced oxidation processes, are also highlighted. Challenges still facing membrane-based technologies for water reuse applications, including institutional barriers, financial allocation and public perception, are stated as areas in need of further research and development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryota Gomi ◽  
Tomonari Matsuda ◽  
Masaki Yamamoto ◽  
Pei-Hsin Chou ◽  
Michio Tanaka ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Wastewater is considered a major source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria released into the environment. Here, we characterized carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in wastewater by whole-genome analysis. Wastewater samples ( n = 40) were collected from municipal wastewater treatment plants and hospital wastewater in Japan and Taiwan. Samples were screened for CPE using selective media, and the obtained isolates were sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq. The isolates ( n = 45) included the following microorganisms: Klebsiella quasipneumoniae ( n = 12), Escherichia coli ( n = 10), Enterobacter cloacae complex ( n = 10), Klebsiella pneumoniae ( n = 8), Klebsiella variicola ( n = 2), Raoultella ornithinolytica ( n = 1), Citrobacter freundii ( n = 1), and Citrobacter amalonaticus ( n = 1). Among the 45 isolates, 38 harbored at least one carbapenemase-encoding gene. Of these, the bla GES ( bla GES-5 , bla GES-6 , and bla GES-24 ) genes were found in 29 isolates. The genes were situated in novel class 1 integrons, but the integron structures were different between the Japanese (In1439 with bla GES-24 and In1440 with bla GES-5 ) and Taiwanese (In1441 with bla GES-5 and In1442 with bla GES-6 ) isolates. Other carbapenemase-encoding genes ( bla VIM-1 , bla NDM-5 , bla IMP-8 , bla IMP-19 , and bla KPC-2 ) were found in one to three isolates. Notably, class 1 integrons previously reported among clinical isolates obtained in the same regions as the present study, namely, In477 with bla IMP-19 and In73 with bla IMP-8 , were found among the Japanese and Taiwanese isolates, respectively. The results indicate that CPE with various carbapenemase-encoding genes in different genetic contexts were present in biologically treated wastewater, highlighting the need to monitor for antibiotic resistance in wastewater.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2343
Author(s):  
Maria Rosa di Cicco ◽  
Manuela Iovinella ◽  
Maria Palmieri ◽  
Carmine Lubritto ◽  
Claudia Ciniglia

Over the past decades, wastewater research has increasingly focused on the use of microalgae as a tool to remove contaminants, entrapping nutrients, and whose biomass could provide both material and energy resources. This review covers the advances in the emerging research on the use in wastewater sector of thermoacidophilic, low-lipid microalgae of the genus Galdieria, which exhibit high content of protein, reserve carbohydrates, and other potentially extractable high-value compounds. The natural tolerance of Galdieria for high toxic environments and hot climates recently made it a key player in a single-step process for municipal wastewater treatment, biomass cultivation and production of energetic compounds using hydrothermal liquefaction. In this system developed in New Mexico, Galdieria proved to be a highly performing organism, able to restore the composition of the effluent to the standards required by the current legislation for the discharge of treated wastewater. Future research efforts should focus on the implementation, in the context of wastewater treatment, of more energetically efficient cultivation systems, potentially capable of generating water with increasingly higher purity levels.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Magdalena Łój-Pilch ◽  
Anita Zakrzewska ◽  
Ewa Zielewicz

Risk management, an aspect of which is risk assessment, is a process supporting the proper function of municipal sewage treatment plants. Many factors affect the quality of treated wastewater. Risk assessment, its analysis, and hierarchization permit the elimination of events with the most destructive impacts on the purification process.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (8) ◽  
pp. 1784-1793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Said Ines ◽  
Mezghani Imed ◽  
Donyez Frikha ◽  
Chaieb Mohamed ◽  
Muscolo Adele

This study aims to evaluate the possibility of using reclaimed municipal wastewater for agricultural purpose. We assessed the validity of municipal wastewater treatment, analyzing its chemical characteristics before and after the biological stabilization by pond treatment (WSP). The reclaimed municipal treated wastewater (TWW) was used to irrigate Cenchrus ciliaris. Experiments were carried out in greenhouse, from July 2013 to July 2014, comparing the effects of TWW with the water normally used for irrigation (tap water, TW) on the growth and flowering parameters of C. ciliaris. During this study, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella spp. were detected in TW, TWW, soils and plants under irrigation. Our results evidenced that TWW increased plant growth, producing taller plants with respect to TW. Total coliforms and fecal coliforms in TWW, TW, soils and plants were under the threshold recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Salmonella was never found in TW, TWW, or soil and plants irrigated with TWW. The absence of pathogens suggests that the pond treatment is an effective method to reclaim wastewater, lowering biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and pathogens. In this respect, TWW can be used as a valid alternative to freshwater for irrigation of fodder species.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Mañas Ramírez ◽  
Jorge De las Heras Ibañez ◽  
Esther Peña Molina

<p>Having drinking water is one of the sustainable development goals (SDG no. 6) that is not always easy to ensure, especially in countries like Spain or arid regions marked by water deficit. The reuse of treated water should be considered when planning water resources, but it is necessary to conduct experiments to verify that this effectiveness is applicable to real situations. Our field trial was carried out in several study areas distributed in agricultural parcels of SE Spain. Three olive grove and vineyard plantations were monitored for 3 years. Two irrigation water types were considered: freshwater from conventional wells (controls) and treated wastewater (TW). The treated wastewater came from three different wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) that employ a biological secondary treatment without disinfection and different numbers of Inhabitants Equivalent (IE) as a measure of pollutant load. They were located in Valdeganga (3,000 IE), Fuenteálamo (5,600 IE) and Ontur (1,500 IE). All the study plots were watered by drip irrigation using 16 mm-diameter polyethylene pipelines.</p><p>Several soil and water parameters were analysed to determine the main differences among them. Increasing of soil salinity is a real risk after irrigating with wastewater as is reflected in higher electrical conductivity values. However, this fact was compensated by the greater contribution of organic matter and nutrients, which allowed crops to adequately develop. Moreover, no microbiological, metal content, toxicity or organic compounds in the studied water samples were detected and reclaimed municipal wastewater was comparable in quality to the conventional sources at all the demonstration sites. Hence adopting this water type for irrigation for grapes and olives could help save primary water resources. The future of water resources management policies involves sustainable wastewater reuse within a circular economy frame because this is the only way to guarantee everyone solidarity access to water.</p><p>Fundings provided by the ERA-NET WaterWorks2014 Cofunded Call. This ERA-NET is an integral part of the 2015 Joint Activities developed by the Water Challenges for a Changing World Joint Programme Initiative (Water JPI).</p>


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document