Treatment of greywater in single households aiming at its reuse

• Published in: Desalination and water treatment Vol. 110; pp. 100 - 108
• Main Authors: de Oliveira, Taísa Machado, Benatti, Cláudia Telles, Tavares, Célia Regina Granhen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-04-2018
• Subjects: Greywater; Membrane; Microfiltration; Reuse; Treatment; Microfiltration; Membrane; Greywater; Treatment; Reuse
• ISSN: 1944-3986
• DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2018.22215

The operational performance of a submerged microfiltration (MF) membrane system for greywater treatment was evaluated. The tests were conducted on bench scale for the treatment of real greywater from a single household. The influence of transmembrane pressure (0.08, 0.10 and 0.15 bar), different packing densities membrane (500, 800 and 1,000 m2 m–3) and aeration (without aeration, 30 and 50 L h–1) on cumulative permeate flux decline was investigated. For the range of operational conditions considered in this study, the optimum parameters turned out to be MF membrane modules with packing densities of 500 and 800 m2 m–3, as well as, the presence of aeration and low pressures (below 0.1 bar). The treatment was efficient at the removal of apparent color, turbidity and total suspended solids. It was also observed that the absence for fecal coliforms counting in the treated samples. However, for the reuse that demands direct contact with the user, such as car washing and toilet flushing, it would be necessary to polish the permeate for the parameters to meet the most strict guidelines for domestic reuse, including the removal of organic matter, surfactant and total dissolved solids.