Recycling and Reuse of Wastewater Generated in Car-Washing Facilities

Abstract

Fresh water is already scarce in the world, especially in the Middle East (ME). Desalination industry is the main supplier of the potable water to the municipalities in the ME region. It is well known the high cost of a liter of water produced by the desalination process. Unfortunately, car-washing service consumes substantial amount of this desalinated water. This paper describes a filtration system designed and tested for treatment and reuse of the wastewater generated in car-washing stations. The filtration system assembled from two filters: (1) sand and gravel mix, and (2) activated carbon. The paper is an extension of work originally presented in ASET conference in Dubai. The quality of the effluent (treated wastewater) was investigated and determined in Dubai central laboratories. Wastewater samples were grabbed from different car service stations. Representative samples were prepared and the concentrations of the following parameters were measured in each sample of the effluent: (1) Biological oxygen demand (BOD), (2) Chemical oxygen demand (COD), (3) Total dissolved solids (TDS), (4) Total suspended solids (TSS), and (5) Oil and grease (OG). The results show that the filter system removes the BOD and COD at an efficiency as high as 97.5%, the TSS at 90%, and the TDS and OG at 85.5%. In general, the quality of the effluent was found to fall within the standards set by Dubai regulatory authorities. Further research is recommended to enhance the filtration system performance and make it commercially applicable.