Laboratory Demonstration and Preliminary Techno-Economic Analysis of an Onsite Wastewater Treatment System

Laboratory Demonstration and Preliminary Techno-Economic Analysis of an Onsite Wastewater Treatment System

Providing safe and reliable sanitation services to the billions of people currently lacking them will require a multiplicity of approaches. Improving onsite wastewater treatment to standards enabling water reuse would reduce the need to transport waste and fresh water over long distances. Here, we d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology Vol. 54; no. 24; pp. 16147 - 16155
Main Authors: Trotochaud, Lena, Andrus, Rebecca M, Tyson, Kayana J, Miller, Graham H, Welling, Claire M, Donaghy, Patrick E, Incardona, Joseph D, Evans, William A, Smith, Paul K, Oriard, Tim L, Norris, Ian D, Stoner, Brian R, Guest, Jeremy S, Hawkins, Brian T
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States American Chemical Society 15-12-2020
Subjects:
Activated carbon
Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis
Blackwater
Chemical oxygen demand
Cost analysis
Cross flow
Economic analysis
Effluents
Electrochemical oxidation
Electrochemistry
Energy costs
Fresh water
Humans
Laboratories
Laboratory tests
Maintenance costs
Onsite
Oxidation
Parameters
R&D
Research & development
Sanitation
Sanitation services
Solid suspensions
Total suspended solids
Treatment and Resource Recovery
Ultrafiltration
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Wastewater
Wastewater treatment
Water Purification
Water reuse
Water treatment
blackwater
granular activated carbon (GAC)
techno-economic analysis
electrochemical disinfection
nonsewered sanitation system (NSSS)
onsite wastewater treatment system (OWTS)
ISO 30500
ultrafiltration
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Summary:Providing safe and reliable sanitation services to the billions of people currently lacking them will require a multiplicity of approaches. Improving onsite wastewater treatment to standards enabling water reuse would reduce the need to transport waste and fresh water over long distances. Here, we describe a compact, automated system designed to treat the liquid fraction of blackwater for onsite water reuse that combines cross-flow ultrafiltration, activated carbon, and electrochemical oxidation. In laboratory testing, the system consistently produces effluent with 6 ≤ pH ≤ 9, total suspended solids (TSS) < 30 mg L–1, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) < 150 mg L–1. These effluent parameters were achieved across a wide range of values for influent TSS (61–820 mg L–1) and COD (384–1505 mg L–1), demonstrating a robust system for treating wastewater of varying strengths. A preliminary techno-economic analysis (TEA) was conducted to elucidate primary cost drivers and prioritize research and development pathways toward commercial feasibility. The ultrafiltration system is the primary cost driver, contributing to >50% of both the energy and maintenance costs. Several scenario parameters showed an outsized impact on costs relative to technology parameters. Specific technological improvements for future prototype development are discussed.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.0c02755