Development of cost-effective reclamation technologies for domestic wastewater and the appropriate agricultural use of the treated effluent under (semi-) arid climate conditions

Objective

Domestic wastewater is more and more regarded as an important water resource in particularly arid climate areas. Development of cost-effective reclamation techniques will stimulate the usage of this potential resource. In the current proposal, the project partners are aiming to develop such techniques, making a direct link between wastewater treatment and agricultural production, and in the mean time studying the impact of the water quality on the agricultural production systems ( including soil and health risks). The core technology for BOD removal will consist of an anaerobic treatment step avoiding any energy demand. This will be followed by appropriate post-treatment for meeting reuse criteria. Based on the effluent criteria, the most suitable water distribution / irrigation system will be researched coupled to agricultural production systems. In addition, a bottom-up approach will be followed in which the agricultural demand sets the effluent criteria and, consequently, the specifications for the treatment system. The advantage of the latter approach is that a low-grade application (e.g. cotton production, trees, animal fodder) will require only a plain, low-cost technique.

Programme(s)

• FP5-INCO 2 - Programme for research, technological development and demonstration on "Confirming the international role of Community research,1998-2002"

Funding Scheme

Coordinator

Participants (5)