WWTP Effluent Quality Improvement for Agricultural Reuse Using an Autonomous Prototype

Abstract

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.

Literature Review: Evaluation of Drug Removal Techniques in Municipal and Hospital Wastewater

“…For this research, adsorption by granular activated carbon showed low removal rates of antibiotics, antiepileptics, and most analgesics [ 31 ]. On the other hand, Sun et al (2017), in a study with a pure experimental design, employed adsorption by powdered activated carbon for the removal of hormones, achieving removal rates of 34.4%, 83.3%, and 99.…”

“… Removal of pharmaceuticals from municipal wastewater in studies with a quasi-experimental design (M01 = [ 27 ], M03 = [ 29 ], M05 = [ 31 ], M17 = [ 49 ], M09 = [ 35 ], M04 = [ 30 ], M10 = [ 36 ]). …”

Farmers’ Attitudes towards Irrigating Crops with Reclaimed Water in the Framework of a Circular Economy

“…When the World Water Assessment Program (WWAP) stated treated wastewater as a reliable and sustainable water resource, the national and international landscape started to change, and since then, the development of regulations on this issue has been ever more frequent in national and international institutions to ensure high standards of water quality [63]. The European Union developed specific regulation (EU 2020/741) where minimum requirements for using reused water in agriculture guarantee a high level of quality in order to protect the environment and human health and foster a circular economy [64]. For its part, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also evolved regulations regarding the reuse of wastewater to properly ensure human safety [62].…”

Improving the Performance of the Reverse Osmosis Process with Fiber Filter and Ultrafiltration: Promoting Municipal Sewage Reclamation and Reuse for Industrial Processes

“…Wastewater reuse presents a promising route to the achievement of water sustainability. It can be applied for diverse uses to share the burden on freshwater sources, where the use of reclaimed water has proven to be an excellent approach to dealing with water scarcity [4,5]. In Taiwan, the uneven spatial and temporal distribution of water resources, difficulties regarding water storage due to the terrain, high levels of urbanization, and rapid industrialization have led to low water-use efficiency as well as to water shortages.…”