Development of an experimental system for greywater reuse

Abstract

Greywater reuse promotes a significant reduction in potable water consumption and sewage production, once the water is used a second time for non potable purposes prior of being discharged to the sewer system. However, its quality must assure the user's safety and thus a treatment system is necessary.The present article presents a study on a low cost and easy maintenance experimental system for greywater reuse with a collection tank and a treatment system composed of a pump, filter and UV disinfection. The objectives of this study include analysis of the treatment efficiency and assessment of the quality potential of treated greywater. For this study, raw greywater was collected from washing basins of public and exclusive access toilets as well as from showers of a changing room.The experimental treatment system showed potential for greywater recovery, because of the simple, low-cost and easy maintenance features, and also because it provides high reduction of SS, COD and BOD. More significantly, no total or fecal coliforms were detected in all treated greywater samples. However, concentrations of SS and BOD after treatment were not low enough to reach the limits presented in legal and reference documents, hence further improvement procedures are suggested.