Modelling Treated Laundry Greywater Reuse for Irrigation Using an Affordable Treatment Method and Seed Germination Test

Camila C. A. Cardoso and Ildiko Bodnar
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Camila C. A. Cardoso: Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
Ildiko Bodnar: Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: A potential solution in areas facing water shortages is greywater (GW) reuse. GW is produced in bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens of households. With proper treatment, it can be an alternative source for the agriculture sector, which consumes approximately 70% of the world’s water. This paper represents the characterization of synthetic laundry GW fraction (LGW), its treatment and modelling of treated LGW reuse for irrigation using a seed germination test. LGW’s constant quality (pH = 8.0 ± 0.3, turbidity = 174 ± 73 NTU, BOD 5 = 300 ± 60 mgL −1 , TOC = 162 ± 40 mgL −1 ) is suitable for testing the treatment method’s efficiency. Coagulation–flocculation, applying iron(III) chloride and sand filtration as a simple treatment combination, generates good-quality irrigation water (pH = 7.27 ± 0.23, turbidity = 0.6 ± 0.4 NTU, BOD 5 = 17 ± 8 mgL −1 , TOC = 16 ± 6 mgL −1 ). Seed germination tests with different waters, and elemental analysis of water, roots, and stems of the plants were done to verify the plants’ quality. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) for the raw LGW (SAR = 4.06) was above the threshold (<3) for safe irrigation, thus it is not recommended for this purpose. Based on the elemental analysis results and SAR value of treated LGW (SAR = 2.84), it can potentially be used for irrigation purposes.

Keywords: greywater treatment; laundry fraction; germination; water reuse; water reclamation; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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