Portable Unit for Treatment of Wastewater in Remote Areas
The compact portable unit to treat wastewater in remote locations is designed so that it can be delivered to a site by helicopter for rapid response and then hooked up to outhouses, kitchens, or wherever people are creating wastewater. Virginia Tech’s Environmental Engineering Laboratory has tested the unit’s ability to remove sludge from water. Historically, biological treatment units and settling basins have needed long detention times to treat wastewater. This method is not feasible for remote locations. As an alternative, UTD and the Virginia Tech environmental engineering researchers, John Novak and Nancy Love, first experimented with using a fabric filter to remove wastewater solids. However, the fabric filter was too thick and would have required too large a unit and complicated emission controls to burn the filters. Instead, Virginia Tech and UTD developed stainless steel screens and pressure filters for solids removal. These will be used in conjunction with biological treatment units where bacteria are used to degrade the waste using a fixed media comprised of clay beads. Bacteria are grown on the beads, which allows a high quantity of microbes to get into small spaces. Combining the stainless steel screens and the clay beads results in a compact treatment unit that can treat 30,000 gallons per day of wastewater. Using clay beads for wastewater treatment is a new technology currently used by the City of Roanoke, Va.. Novak and Love were also involved in the testing of this technology in Dublin, Va. before it was used by Roanoke. The byproduct of this treatment process is a partially dried wastewater sludge that can be disposed of with regular solid waste. The sludge is generated from the collection of the bacteria that consume the organic matter in the sewage. UTD is also in the process of designing complete portable communities for up to 550 people that could be delivered to war or disaster areas, with instant provisions for water and wastewater treatment, housing, food facilities, and power generation. UTD Inc. is an innovative engineering firm supporting clients in technical analysis and field support, basic and applied research, and equipment and instrumentation research and development. For more information, contact: John T. Novak Virginia Tech’s Environmental Engineering Laboratory Tel: 540-231-6132 E-mail: [email protected]
Sector: Disaster Management and Mitigation
Country: India
Area of Application: Disaster prone areas, emergency situations
Keywords: Portable unit for wastewater treatment
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Development Status: Commercial Prototype
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