Tertiary Treatment of Livestock Wastewater in the Context of Alternative Water Resources for Sustainable Agriculture

Carmen Tociu,Ecaterina Marcu,Alexandru-Anton Ivanov,Gyorgy Deak,Florica Marinescu,Cristina Maria,Irina-Elena Ciobotaru

doi:10.37358/rc.20.10.8360

Abstract

The limited availability and quality of water resources are key issues of water management, and the protection and preservation of water resources are a requirement in the context of accelerated economic growth and principles of sustainable development. The experimental research presented in this paper is based on the need to identify alternative water sources and support unconventional wastewater treatment methods which would enable their reuse in areas affected by water scarcity and drought. Livestock wastewater contain significant levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and may represent an attractive water source for crop irrigation. This paper evaluates the efficacy of a proposed technological process for tertiary wastewater treatment consisting of two steps: electrochemical treatment for the removal of suspended and colloidal impurities and ozone disinfection. The experimental results showed higher efficiencies for the removal of chemical pollutants (92.5% COD, 79.3% BOD, 98.6% TSS, 41% residue saline) and significant inactivation of microorganisms (over 99.9% for total coliform bacteria and in some cases 100% for faecal coliform bacteria and faecal streptococci). The quality of the effluent complies with the regulations for wastewater use in agriculture and allows its reuse for different categories of use considering the required conditions for soil/crops. The successful application of treated wastewater to agricultural crops depends in a high extent on the good practices aimed on the improvement of crop yield and quality, optimisation of soil productivity and protection of the environment undertaken by the economic entities.

Highlights

The main issues of water management should be considered in the broad context of a well-balanced social and economic development which would not compromise the sustainability of the ecosystems. [1,2]
The quality of the wastewater was assessed considering the indicators provided by the regulations concerning water reuse in irrigation purposes together with some other indicators of interest for wastewater
This paper addressed a current issue related to water management, namely the adequate treatment of wastewater in relation to the necessity to identify alternative water sources in areas with water scarcity and prevent environmental pollution

Summary

Introduction

The main issues of water management should be considered in the broad context of a well-balanced social and economic development which would not compromise the sustainability of the ecosystems. [1,2]. The main issues of water management should be considered in the broad context of a well-balanced social and economic development which would not compromise the sustainability of the ecosystems. The current progress of scientific and academic research in the development of efficient wastewater treatment methods enables the reuse of treated effluent in various purposes [3,4,5]. The use of unconventional water sources such as treated wastewater is a compelling alternative in areas affected by the lack of water resources and drought events [6,7,8,9]. 70% of global freshwater resources are used in agricultural purposes. 28% of the global agricultural land and 56% of the total irrigated land are located in areas with high and very high water shortage [10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion