Efficiency of Natural Clay Mineral Adsorbent Filtration Systems in Wastewater Treatment for Potential Irrigation Purposes

ElSayed ElBastamy, Lubna A. Ibrahim, Atef Ghandour, Martina Zelenakova, Zuzana Vranayova and Mohamed Abu-Hashim
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ElSayed ElBastamy: Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring (CLEQM), National Water Research Center (NWRC), Qalyobia 13621, Egypt
Lubna A. Ibrahim: Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring (CLEQM), National Water Research Center (NWRC), Qalyobia 13621, Egypt
Atef Ghandour: Agricultural Research Center (ARC), On-Farm Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Research Department, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AEnRI), Giza 256, Egypt
Martina Zelenakova: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Kosice, 04200 Kosice, Slovakia
Zuzana Vranayova: Department of Building Facilities, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Kosice, 04200 Kosice, Slovakia
Mohamed Abu-Hashim: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: This project investigated the relative efficiencies of three pilot-scale constructed columns for enhancing drainage wastewater treatment processes to ensure compliance with Egyptian and international water quality criteria. In this investigation, basic materials (sand and gravel) and variable natural clay minerals zeolite (Z), diatomite (D) and bentonite (B) were utilized as packing materials to build up a Z column (ZC), D column (DC) and B column (BC), respectively. The three columns’ ability to remove pollutants from waste water for re-use in irrigation was investigated throughout one year (12 trials). The results revealed that the influent water had 211 mg/L total suspended solids, 6.09 mg/L total nitrogen, 36.67 mg/L biochemical oxygen demand, 56 mg/L chemical oxygen demand, 1700 mg/L total dissolved solids, 0.97 mg/L copper (Cu 2+ ), 1.12 mg/L iron (Fe 2+ ), 1.07 mg/L manganese (Mn 2+ ), 1.02 mg/L lead (Pb 2+ ), 1.05 mg/L zinc (Zn 2+ ), and 46 × 10 3 CFU/mL fecal coliforms. These parameters were higher than the values permitted by Egyptian and international licenses. The range of removal efficiency of these pollutants by ZC was 96–21%, by BC was 99–29.8%, and by DC was 99–19.80%. Regeneration studies for the spent adsorbents demonstrated that the percentages of pollutant removal were sufficiently high. The treated effluent produced by the three columns was suitable for irrigation purposes, especially at a contact time of four hours, with the order for column treatment efficiency being BC ˃ DC ˃ ZC. Treated water was classified for irrigation suitability according to the Agrifood Water Quality Index (AFWQI) as marginal from the ZC, very good from the DC, and excellent from the BC. Treatment of such drainage water using the BC and DC appears feasible, because the process is easily operated and leads to final treated effluent of high quality for agricultural uses. The economic cost also confirms the feasibility of this treatment.

Keywords: agrifood water quality index; bentonite; diatomite; drainage water; pilot-scale columns; wastewater treatment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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