Potential of suspended growth biological processes for mixed wastewater reclamation and reuse in agriculture: challenges and opportunities
Open Access
- 1 January 2021
- journal article
- other
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Environmental Technology Reviews
- Vol. 10 (1), 77-110
- https://doi.org/10.1080/21622515.2021.1881829
Abstract
Pollution and increasing water demand, especially for agriculture, put severe stress on freshwater sources, and as a result, there is progressive deficit in the global water supply and severe water scarcity is projected in the coming decades. Discharges from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities are potential sources of water pollution, impacting human and environmental health. In the face of growing water scarcity and droughts, coupled with the increasing water demand for irrigation, integration of high water-volume and nutrient-rich industrial effluents, into the existing water management plans for agriculture, could play an important role in tackling the problem of water scarcity. However, there is a gap in knowledge about integration of industrial effluents to sewage treatments and the reuse potential of biologically treated mixed industrial and domestic wastewater in agriculture. This study, therefore, provides a critical review on biological treatment of industrial effluents, including petroleum, textile and pharmaceutical wastewater to better understand the capability of bioprocesses and conditions for efficient degradation of pollutants. The effectiveness of activated sludge-based processes, for the treatment of mixed industrial and domestic wastewater, was critically examined, and biomass acclimation plays a vital role in enhanced biodegradation performance. Finally, the reuse potential of mixed industrial and domestic wastewaters for crop irrigation was assessed by studying the reuse outcomes in different cases where industrial effluents were utilized for crop production. Management practices, such as cultivation of salt- and metal-tolerant crops, blending and dilution of industrial wastewater with freshwater and sewage, could make industrial effluents valuable for irrigation. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACTKeywords
Funding Information
- Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF/ED/OSS/PHD/ POF/1109/17)
- University of Surrey
- University of Manchester (ST/P003079/1)
This publication has 100 references indexed in Scilit:
- Individual and combined effects of organic, toxic, and hydraulic shocks on sequencing batch reactor in treating petroleum refinery wastewaterJournal of Hazardous Materials, 2013
- Metal contamination of soil and translocation in vegetables growing under industrial wastewater irrigated agricultural field of Vadodara, Gujarat, IndiaEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2011
- The characteristics of enriched nitrifier culture in the degradation of selected pharmaceutically active compoundsJournal of Hazardous Materials, 2009
- Treatment of mixed domestic–industrial wastewater using cyanobacteriaJournal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology, 2008
- Reuse of industrial wastewater for the irrigation of ornamental plantsWater Science & Technology, 2008
- Treatment of petroleum refinery sourwater by advanced oxidation processesJournal of Hazardous Materials, 2006
- Treatment of complex chemical wastewater in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with an aerobic suspended growth configurationProcess Biochemistry, 2005
- Impact of toxic chemicals on local wastewater treatment plant and the environmentEnvironmental Geology, 1989
- Management of wastewater from soap and food industries: A case studyScience of The Total Environment, 1987
- Biological treatment of mixed industrial and sanitary wastewatersConservation & Recycling, 1985