WWTP Effluent Quality Improvement for Agricultural Reuse Using an Autonomous Prototype

Wastewater reuse presents a promising way to mitigate the risk to global water resources and achieve sustainability in water, especially in agricultural areas in the southeast of Spain, such as the Murcia region. However, the risks related to the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) 2020-08, Vol.12 (8), p.2240
Main Authors: Ponce-Robles, Laura, Masdemont-Hernández, Beatriz, Munuera-Pérez, Teresa, Pagán-Muñoz, Aránzazu, Lara-Guillén, Andrés Jesús, García-García, Antonio José, Pedrero-Salcedo, Francisco, Nortes-Tortosa, Pedro Antonio, Alarcón-Cabañero, Juan José
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated carbon
Adsorption
Agricultural wastes
Agriculture
Analysis
Autonomy
By products
Contaminants
Costs
Disinfection
Effluent quality
Effluents
Energy consumption
Environmental protection
Irrigation
Legislation
Management
Methods
Microorganisms
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Purification
Quality control
Regulation
Sewage
Solar energy
Solar panels
Sustainability
Sustainable agriculture
Tertiary treatment
Ultraviolet radiation
Waste management
Wastewater
Wastewater reuse
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water
Water resources
Water reuse
Water treatment plants
Workflow
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Summary:Wastewater reuse presents a promising way to mitigate the risk to global water resources and achieve sustainability in water, especially in agricultural areas in the southeast of Spain, such as the Murcia region. However, the risks related to the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) or pathogenic microorganisms in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent suggest the need to implement effective and relatively low-cost tertiary treatments. With this aim, a self-sustainable pilot prototype based on three combined modules (disc-filtration, granular activated carbon (GAC) bed adsorption and UV disinfection) assisted by solar panels was installed as an alternative tertiary treatment in a conventional WWTP in the Murcia region. The obtained results clearly confirmed the efficiency of the proposed prototype for CECs removal, and showed optimal results at a workflow of 500 L/h. In all cases, high removal efficiency was obtained for the different indicator microorganisms described in the recently published Regulation (EU) 2020/741 (E. coli, F-specific coliphages, somatic coliphages, total coliphages, and Clostridium perfringens). The protection of the activated carbon by disc-filters and the energy autonomy and self-operation of the prototype resulted in an efficient and economically viable methodology for its implementation in both conventional WWTPs and in isolated areas attached to crops.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w12082240