Design Optimization for Grey Water Treatment

Abstract

Abstract: India is facing a water crisis and by 2025 it is estimated that India's population will be suffering from severe water scarcity. Although India occupies only 3.29 million km2 of the geographical area which forms 2.4% of the world's land area, it supports over 15% of the world's population with only 4% of the world's water resources. With increased population growth and development, there is a need to critically look at alternative approaches to ensure water availability. The scarcity of water is soon going to incapacitate the entire world and therefore the sooner newer methods are devised to utilize water in all its possible forms the better for mankind. Ground water and surface water are rapidly getting contaminated by pollutants and hence cannot be utilized for irrigation purposes. Thus, an alternative water source, i.e. grey water comes into play. Grey water is easily available and through an inexpensive laboratory-scale treatment method like ours it can be purified so that it can serve for irrigation and household purposes. Five liters of grey water was treated by physical, chemical, and biological aided treatment procedures which were divided into three main methods namely primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. These alternative resources include rainwater and the bulk of water used in the household will emerge as grey water and contain some minerals, and organic waste materials dissolved and suspended in it. When this is allowed to flow out this will join the sewage and be bacteriologically contaminated, resulting in a sewage stream. It is possible to intercept this grey water, at the household level, and treat it so that it can be recycled for garden washing and flushing purposes as well.