Comparison of Irrigation Qualities of Septic Tank Effluents Reclaimed Using Aerobic- versus Anaerobic-Based Treatment Systems

Abstract

Conventional septic tanks remove partially suspended solids andorganics from wastewater, but they do not remove nutrients and pathogens. TheKuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) studied a number of promisingsystems for the reclamation of effluents from conventional septic tanks. Thispaper compares the irrigation qualities of the final products of aerobic- versusanaerobic-based post-treatment systems. Reclamation of the effluents of a fullscaleconventional septic tank indicated that an anaerobic-based treatmentsystem resulted in lower salinity, fewer suspended solids, and smaller amountsof organics than an aerobic-based treatment system. However, the aerobicbasedtreatment system was found to be more efficient in the removal of totalnitrogen. Obtained results have also indicated that both treatment systems givealmost the same concentrations of boron and heavy metals. Therefore, it hasbeen concluded that reclamation of effluents of conventional septic tanksrequires both aerobic and anaerobic biological treatments