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Abstract
The aim of this paper is to assess the role of greywaterreuse in sustainablewater management in arid regions.
Moreover,it intendsto documentthe experienceof greywaterreuse in Jordan.Creywater(GW) is the water collected
separatelyfrom sewageflow that originatesfrom clotheswashers,bathtubs,showersand sinks, but does not include
wastewatertirn kitchen sinks, dishwashers,or toilets. Dish, shower, sink, and laundry water comprise 5040% of
residentialwastewater.GW is used in groundwaterrecharge,landscaping,and plant growth.A case study on GW reuse
in Jordan is presentedto shed some lightson its role in sustainablewatermanagement.To operationalizethis concept,
wateris viewedas an economicgood and a finiteresourcethat shouldbe valuedand managedin a rationalmanner.The
studyconcluded that currentenvironmentalpoliciesshouldaimto controlpollutionandto maximizerecyclingandreuse
of GW withinhouseholdsand communities.DecentralizedGW/wastewatermanagementoffersmore opportunitiesfor
maximizingrecyclingopportunities.
Keyworak
1. Introduction
Historically, domestic greywater reuse was
practiced to conserve water. However, social and
economic constraints prevented its further
development and integration in the urban water
systems [ 11. It is likely that new innovations in
water management will eventually lead to
substantial changes in lifestyle, particularly if the
use of water as a transport medium for our
domestic waste is reduced or eliminated [2].
The conventional paradigm of water/wastewater management was characterized as supplydriven, centralized and large-scale development.
This approach led to over-exploitation or
depletion of renewable water resources, mining
of non-renewable groundwater resources and
deterioration of water quality. The collection and
disposal mind-set prevailed because of concerns
over public health protection. Water-intensive
and centralized sewer systems were built to
Presented at the European Conference on Desalination and the Environment: Fresh Waterfor All, Malta, 4-8 May 2003.
European Desalination Society International Water Association.
001 l-9164/03/$-
See front matter 0 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
182
2. Characterization of greywater
GW is the wastewater collected separately
from sewage flow from clothes washers, bathtubs, showers and sinks, but does not include
wastewater from kitchen sinks, dishwashers, or
toilets. Dish, shower, sink, and laundry water
comprise 50--80% ofresidential wastewater. GW
may be used in groundwater recharge, landscaping, and plant growth.
Due to the fact that GW is usually generated
by the use of soap or soap products for body
washing, its quality varies according to source,
geographical location, demographics and level of
occupancy, as shown in Table 1. GW is relatively
low in suspended solids and turbidity, indicating
that a greater proportion of the contaminants are
dissolved. Moreover, although the concentration
of organics is somewhat similar to domestic
wastewater, their chemical nature is quite different. The COD:BOD ratio may be as high as
4: 1 (very much greater than values reported for
sewage). This is coupled with a deficiency of
macro-nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.
The COD:NH,:P of GW has been measured at
1030:2.7:1, and this compares with 1OO:S:l for
domestic wastewater. Hence, both the relatively
low values of biodegradable organic matter and
the nutrient imbalance limit the effectiveness of
biological treatment [ 131.
183
Table 1
Typical composition of greywater from various sources
Source
Hand basin
Combined
Synthetic greywater
Single personb
Single family
Block of flatsb
Collegeb
Large colleged
Total nitrogen.
COD (mg/l)
Turbidity (NTU)
109
121
181
110
-
263
371
-
33
80
96
40
146
168
_ Bob
(w4
256
-
69
25
14
76.5
20
59
57
NH3(mg/l) P (m.0
Total coliforms
9.6
1
0.9
2.58
0.36
-
1.5x106
-
0.74
10
10
0.8
9.3
0.4
-
1x106
-
2.4
5.2x106
r .-.
4. Treatment of greywater
Based on the work of Nolde and Dott [ 161,
GW from recycling systems should fulfill four
criteria: hygienic safety, aesthetics, environmental tolerance, and technical and economical
feasibility. In most countries, guidelines and
standards for water reuse in buildings either do
not exist or are being revised or expanded. In
1992 the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) published Guidelines for Water Quality
that describes the treatment stages, water quality
184
requirements and monitoring tools [ 171.According to the EPA, reclaimed water used for toilet
flushing should undergo eventual filtration and
disinfection. The effluent should have no detectable fecal coliforms in 100 ml of the treated
water, a BOD of <IO mgll and a residual Cl, of
>l mgl- whereby Cl, should be continuously
monitored.
Options for making safe use of GW as a
source for irrigation are many and diverse. A key
to successful GW treatment lies in its immediate
processing and reuse before it has reached the
anaerobic state. The simplest GW treatment
consists of directly introducing freshly generated
GW into an active, live topsoil environment.
Many new technologies have been developed to
treat GW. Some of these technologies include
Planter soilbox design and pressure leach
chambers.
The major difficulty presented for treatment
of GW is the large variation in its composition.
Reported mean COD values vary from 40 to
371 mg/l between sites, with similar variations
arising at an individual site. This has been
attributed to changes arising in the quantity and
type of detergent products employed during
washing. GW quality is also subjected to
dynamic variation. Significant chemical changes
may take place over time periods of only a few
hours. Table 2 shows a summary of water quality
standards for domestic water recycling.
The rationale for treating GW is based on
biological characterization of GW. It has been
documented that GW can contain at least 101
100 ml of potentially pathogenic microorganisms
[ 18-201. It is also accepted that stored GW
undergoes changes in quality which include
growth in numbers ofmicro-organisms according
to the limiting factors for each particular microorganism. Research has shown that counts of
total coliform and faecal coliforms increased
from 1O-lo/1 00 ml to above 1OS/100 ml within
48 h in stored GW from various sources. Of more
concern is the potential infection route that GW
185
Table 2
Summary of water quality standards and criteria suitable for domestic water recycling (adapted from [ 121)
Bathing water
Standards
USA, NSF
USA, EPA
Australia
UK (BSIRA)
Japan
WHO
Germany
Faecal
coliforms
BOD,
(mg/J)
Turbidity
(NTU)
Cl, residual
(mg/l)
pH
10,000(~
5000
-
2000
loo@
~240
<4
<lo
-
6-9
45
10
20
-
90
2
2
-
1
-
10
-
5
-
6-9
-
500
20
l-2
6-9
Non-detectable
<l
Non-detectable
<lo
1000
200
100
6-9
-
diameter,
186
Table 3
Performance of sand filter and membrane filtration processes for greywater treatment
~.~_.~-___~~_._._~
~__~__~__._~__~_~.
~ .~~~._. ~~~.~ ~_ ~
Influent
Post-sand filter
Post-membrane
Influent
Post-membrane
Pre-advanced oxidationb
Post-advanced oxidationb
Pre-coagulationd
Post-coagulationd
-
BOD, Ow4
COD (mg/l)
33.3
12.3
4.7
25-185
l-19
41 (TOC)
25 (TOC)
____
143
35.7
22.2
86-410
21-l 12
100
30
Turbidity
__44.5
32.3
0.34
12-100
Cl
29.4
2.41
TC (cfu/lOO ml)
_._.._.__.~~~_____~.._~
0 E. Coli
2-310~10~
ND-2419
9x105
ND
-
microfiltration membrane, and have been successfully employed in Japan for GW recycling in
office blocks and residential buildings [23].
The MBR process can be configured with the
membrane placed within the reactor (submerged
MBR) or by externally to it (sidestream MBR).
The two systems show similar biological performance but membrane permeation differs between
them. The external systems are run at higher
transmembrane pressures, producing higher flow
rates that exacerbate fouling problems and thus
necessitate regular cleaning. The internal systems
are operated hydraulically, generating much
lower flow rates which are, however, stable,
thereby reducing membrane cleaning requirements to once in every 6 months as opposed to
monthly, weekly or even daily for the side steam
configuration operating in cross-flow mode.
The complexity of the technology applied is
generally commensurate with the scale of the
recycling scheme. Cost implications have meant
that single-house systems are largely restricted to
coarse filtration devices with downstream disinfection. The current emphasis is on simple and
187
188
189
Portable
water
backup w ith
air gap
I
Automatic
To subsurface
dr io irr iaation
fieid
back-
Electronic
controller
Gravity
tank
190
Table 4
Greywater quality parameters before and after treatment
Sample type
PH
TSS
O&G
BOD
ABS
(FC/lOOml)*10
Raw greywate?
TGW samplelb
TGW sample 2
TGW sample 3
TGW sample4
TGW sample 5
Average TGW
Percent reductiond
6
7
6
6
316
42
158
517
141
20
13
50
1500
106
680
1011
56
99
8
6
0
171
189
0.40
8
19
0.86
66
392
0.74
101
20
89
99
21
3
46
0.54
7
5
6
6
2
4
5
0.34
and recommendations
191
192