Development and appraisal of handwash-wastewater treatment system for water recycling as a resilient response to COVID-19
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Abstract
In this work, results from characterization of handwashing wastewater from selected stations in Kampala City,
Uganda, revealed that handwashing wastewater did not meet permissible international standards for wastewater
discharge to the environment. The ratio of BOD5 to COD of ˂ 0.5 implied that handwashing wastewater was not
amenable to biological treatment processes. Turbidity of ˃ 50 NTU pointed to the need for a roughing filter prior
to slow sand filtration. Subsequently, a handwashing wastewater treatment system consisting of selected particle
sizes of silica sand, zeolite, and granular activated carbon as filtration and/or adsorption media was developed
and assessed for performance towards amelioration of the physicochemical and biological parameters of the
handwashing wastewater. Treated water from the developed wastewater treatment system exhibited a turbidity
of 5 NTU, true color of 10 Pt-Co, apparent color of 6 Pt-Co, and TSS of 9 mgL-1, translating to removal efficiencies
of up to 98.5%, 98.1%, 99.7%, and 96.9%, respectively. The residual total coliforms and E. coli of 1395
and 1180 CFU(100 mL)-1 respectively, were totally eliminated upon disinfection with 0.5 mL NaOCl (3.5% wt/
vol) per liter of treated wastewater. The treated water was thus suitable for recycling for handwashing purpose as
opposed to letting handwashing wastewater merely go down the drain. This approach provides a resilient
response to COVID-19, where communities faced with water scarcity can treat and recycle handwashing
wastewater at the point of washing. It thus enables more people to have the opportunity to practice handwashing,
abating the high risks of infection, which could otherwise arise.
Description
Keywords
Wastewater treatment, Sand Zeolite
Citation
Olupot, P. W., Menya, E., Jjagwe, J., Wakatuntu, J., Kavuma, T., Wabwire, A., ... & Kalibbala, H. M. (2021). Development and appraisal of handwash-wastewater treatment system for water recycling as a resilient response to COVID-19. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(5), 106113.