Application of Combined Phytoremediation Greywater Treatment in A Single House

Abstract

Declining natural resources and increasing environmental contamination due to human activities trigger people to consider a sustainable way to solve two problems in a solutive practice. Many households in Indonesia mostly discharge their greywater directly to the surface water, which pollutes the water and environment around it. On the other hand, the amount of potential water resources is declining nationwide, resulting in high pollution levels and require the high cost of water treatment to purify the water. To reduce the pollution load as well as to provide alternative water for indoor and outdoor use, it is necessary to find the most effective treatment. Greywater treatment by using plants (phytotechnology) combined with solar UV system is one of the breakthroughs that meet the criteria of low cost, simple in operation and maintenance, as well as energy saving. This paper presents the result of the combined treatment of phytoremediation and solar UV system as a very effective treatment to treat greywater. The treatment design consists of a collection chamber, sedimentation, filter, phytoremediation, and solar UV disinfection chamber. The treated water quality met the requirements of the Provincial Regulation of Central Java No. 5 of 2012 and class 3 standard (water for cultivation of plants and fisheries) of Indonesian Government Regulation No. 82 of 2001, but does not yet meet the standard for toilet flushing water. This result showed that the treatment of greywater by using plants and solar UV treatment is still facing some challenges to increase the intake of its treated water for indoor and outdoor water used within a household.