Membrane technology for sustainable treated wastewater reuse: agricultural, environmental and hydrological considerations

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 1383-1388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Oron ◽  
Leonid Gillerman ◽  
Amos Bick ◽  
Yossi Manor ◽  
Nisan Buriakovsky ◽  
...  

Field experiments were conducted in agricultural fields in which secondary wastewater of the City of Arad (Israel) is reused for irrigation. For sustainable agricultural production and safe groundwater recharge the secondary effluent is further polished by a combined two-stage membrane pilot system. The pilot membrane system consists of two main in row stages: Ultrafiltration (UF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO). The UF stage is efficient in the removal of the pathogens and suspended organic matter while the successive RO stage provides safe removal of the dissolved solids (salinity). Effluents of various qualities were applied for agricultural irrigation along with continuous monitoring of the membrane system performance. Best agricultural yields were obtained when applying effluent having minimal content of dissolved solids (after the RO stage) as compared with secondary effluent without any further treatment and extended storage. In regions with shallow groundwater reduced soil salinity in the upper productive layers, maintained by extra membrane treatment, will guarantee minimal dissolved solids migration to the aquifers and minimize salinisation processes.

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Oron ◽  
Raphi Mandelbaum ◽  
Carlos E. Enriquez ◽  
Robert Armon ◽  
Yoseph Manor ◽  
...  

The main purpose of the research was to examine approaches and to evaluate methods for minimizing the risks during applying treated domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation. This general purpose consisted of examining under field conditions the possibilities when implementing different application technologies for minimizing health and environmental risks. It was assumed that Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) will provide adequate conditions for safe effluent reuse. Controlled field experiments where conducted in commercial fields to evaluate the alternatives. Main efforts where conducted in Israel in the grape vineyard in Arad heights, in the field crops in Kibbutz Chafets Chaim and in Arizona in fields adjacent to the University campus. The complementary part was to examine the behavior of the various pathogens in the effluent-soil-plant system. The analysis is based on controlled experiments, primarily in greenhouse along with field experiments. Molecular biology methods were used to identify the behavior of the pathogens in the components of the system. The project included as well examining the effluent quality in various sites, primarily those in which treated wastewater is reused for agricultural irrigation. The monitoring included conventional parameters however, also parasites such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The results obtained indicate the prominent advantages of using Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI) method for minimizing health and environmental risks during application of secondary effluent. A theoretical model for assessing the risks while applying treated wastewater was completed as well. The management model shows the risks during various scenarios of wastewater quality, application technology and related human exposure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-254
Author(s):  
Edward R. Jones ◽  
Michelle T. H. van Vliet ◽  
Manzoor Qadir ◽  
Marc F. P. Bierkens

Abstract. Continually improving and affordable wastewater management provides opportunities for both pollution reduction and clean water supply augmentation, while simultaneously promoting sustainable development and supporting the transition to a circular economy. This study aims to provide the first comprehensive and consistent global outlook on the state of domestic and manufacturing wastewater production, collection, treatment and reuse. We use a data-driven approach, collating, cross-examining and standardising country-level wastewater data from online data resources. Where unavailable, data are estimated using multiple linear regression. Country-level wastewater data are subsequently downscaled and validated at 5 arcmin (∼10 km) resolution. This study estimates global wastewater production at 359.4×109 m3 yr−1, of which 63 % (225.6×109 m3 yr−1) is collected and 52 % (188.1×109 m3 yr−1) is treated. By extension, we estimate that 48 % of global wastewater production is released to the environment untreated, which is substantially lower than previous estimates of ∼80 %. An estimated 40.7×109 m3 yr−1 of treated wastewater is intentionally reused. Substantial differences in per capita wastewater production, collection and treatment are observed across different geographic regions and by level of economic development. For example, just over 16 % of the global population in high-income countries produces 41 % of global wastewater. Treated-wastewater reuse is particularly substantial in the Middle East and North Africa (15 %) and western Europe (16 %), while comprising just 5.8 % and 5.7 % of the global population, respectively. Our database serves as a reference for understanding the global wastewater status and for identifying hotspots where untreated wastewater is released to the environment, which are found particularly in South and Southeast Asia. Importantly, our results also serve as a baseline for evaluating progress towards many policy goals that are both directly and indirectly connected to wastewater management. Our spatially explicit results available at 5 arcmin resolution are well suited for supporting more detailed hydrological analyses such as water quality modelling and large-scale water resource assessments and can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.918731 (Jones et al., 2020).


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwan Carré ◽  
Jean Pérot ◽  
Vincent Jauzein ◽  
Liming Lin ◽  
Miguel Lopez-Ferber

The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectrometry as a complementary method for routine monitoring of reclaimed water production. Robustness of the models and compliance of their sensitivity with current quality limits are investigated. The following indicators are studied: total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nitrate. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) is used to find linear correlations between absorbances and indicators of interest. Artificial samples are made by simulating a sludge leak on the wastewater treatment plant and added to the original dataset, then divided into calibration and prediction datasets. The models are built on the calibration set, and then tested on the prediction set. The best models are developed with: PLSR for COD (Rpred2 = 0.80), TSS (Rpred2 = 0.86) and turbidity (Rpred2 = 0.96), and with a simple linear regression from absorbance at 208 nm (Rpred2 = 0.95) for nitrate concentration. The input of artificial data significantly enhances the robustness of the models. The sensitivity of the UV/Vis spectrometry monitoring system developed is compatible with quality requirements of reclaimed water production processes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana María Leiva ◽  
Adrián Albarrán ◽  
Daniela López ◽  
Gladys Vidal

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytotoxicity of wastewater treated with horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetlands (CWs) and activated sludge (AS) system using disinfection treatment such chlorination and ultraviolet (UV) system. To assess the impact of the reuse of different effluents (HSSF-Cl, HSSF-UV, AS-Cl and AS-UV), bioassays using seeds of Raphanus sativus (R. sativus) and Triticum aestivum (T. aestivum), were performed on both Petri dishes and soil. Different treated wastewater concentrations were varied (6.25%, 12.5%, 25%, 50% and 100%) and the percentage of germination inhibition (PGI), percentage of epicotyl elongation (PEE) and germination index (GI) were determined. Positive effects (PGI and PEE <0% and GI >80%) of HSSF-Cl, HSSF-UV, AS-Cl and AS-UV effluents on germination and epicotyl elongation of R. sativus and T. aestivum were observed in Petri dishes bioassays. However, toxic effects of HSSF-Cl, HSSF-UV and AS-Cl on seeds germination and epicotyl elongation of both plant species were detected in soil samples (PGI and PEE >0% and GI <80%). Only R. sativus seeds to be irrigated with AS-UV achieved GI values above 86% for all concentrations evaluated. These results indicated that AS-UV effluent had a positive effect on seeds germination and can be recommended for treated wastewater reuse in agricultural irrigation.


Author(s):  
J.R. Adewumi ◽  
A.A. Ilemobade ◽  
J.E. van Zyl

Wastewater reuse is increasingly becoming an important component of water resources management in many countries. Planning of a sustainable wastewater reuse project involves multi-criteria that incorporate technical, economic, environmental and social attributes. These attributes of sustainability is the framework upon which the decision support tool presented in this paper is developed. The developed tool employs a user friendly environment that guides the decision makers in assessing the feasibility of implementing wastewater reuse. The input data into the tool are easily obtainable while the output is comprehensive enough for a feasibility assessment of treated wastewater reuse. The output is expressed in terms of effluent quality, costs, quantitative treatment scores and perception evaluation. Testing of the developed multi-criteria decision support tool using Parow wastewater treatment works in Cape Town showed the tool to be versatile and capable of providing a good assessment of both qualitative and quantitative criteria in the selection of treatment trains to meet various non-potable reuses. The perception module provided a quick assessment of potential user’s concerns on reuse and service providers’ capacity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 218 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 445-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis K. Kalavrouziotis ◽  
Prodromos H. Koukoulakis

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