Skip to content

Going Green

Filtration of kitchen waste water for horticultural use

by Michael Evans 19 Jan 2011
Filtration of kitchen waste water for horticultural use

Water is a precious and necessary commodity. It is essential to sustain life and its regular supply is something that we take for granted. In the so-called developed world the days are long gone when every drop had to be carried from a well. In this present age very few of us are without a piped water supply and by the nature of our lifestyle, millions of gallons of wastewater are literally poured down the drain every day.

In countries where there is no shortage of water this is not necessarily seen as a big problem; problems only arise when for some reason the regular water supply gets interrupted. For people who live in arid regions of the world, throwing away water is seen as a wicked waste and ways are increasingly being looked at to re-use waste water to ensure sustainability.

Recycling domestic wastewater is fast becoming an important part of water management and attitudes are changing towards the use of this so-called grey water. Emerging technology, together with a shift in attitude towards waste in the developing world is leading to more people being willing to re-use this water when given a choice.

Although domestic wastewater from showers, kitchen sinks and laundry washing in homes and offices offers a potential resource, it is not clean enough for general horticultural and agricultural use. It might contain an organic load from food processing, utensil washing in the kitchen, soap and detergents, with the main contaminants being proteins, carbohydrates, detergents, oil, grease and other dissolved and suspended compounds.

In the developed world the reuse of this water is normal practice, but unfortunately particularly in parts of the world where financial and technical constraints are acute, affordable and effective domestic wastewater treatment is not yet available.

Researchers in India have studied various filtration systems for kitchen waste water and have found that even the most poorly performing can produce water that is clean enough for growing crops.

Subrata Dasgupta, together with colleagues from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), has explored the potential of ceramic microfiltration membranes used alone or in conjunction with different physiochemical treatments, such as biotreatment and adsorption for cleaning up dirty dishwater.

The team compared cross-flow microfiltration with tubular ceramic membranes in single channel and multichannel configurations. Biotreatment involved using activated sludge or an adsorptive treatment based on the prepared dried roots of Eichhornia crassipes, an aquatic weed that grows well in polluted water.

As one would expect, the researchers found that a 19-channel ceramic membrane performed better in terms of permeate quality than a single-channel filter. They also discovered that when an absorbent was used in conjunction with microfiltration of wastewater, in terms of biological and chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids, this gave the most promising results of all the approaches that were tested.

This relatively inexpensive treatment may not produce drinking water, but water quality was found to be perfectly fit for use in horticulture and irrigation.


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping