Waste Water / Treatment and Reutilization

FERNANDO S. GARCÍA EINSCHLAG; VARIOS AUTORES

Intech

Lugar: Rijeka; Año: 2011 p. 434

978-953-307-249-4

The steady increase in industrialization, urbanization and enormous population growth are leading to production of huge quantities of wastewaters that may frequently cause environmental hazards. Raw or treated waste water is very oft en discharged to freshwaters and results in changing ecological performance and biological diversity of these systems. About 70% of water supplied ends up as wastewater and several natural water reservoirs are being contaminated by untreated sewage/industrial effluents. This makes waste water treatment and waste water reduction very important issues. The problem of water pollution is very complex. The major sources of wastewater can be classified as municipal, industrial and agricultural. Therefore, effluents may have high contents of harmful organic compounds, heavy metals and biohazards that may have serious health implications. Thus, according to the nature of the waste water, different treatment strategies should be used. Available techniques are used to reduce the amount of effluents as well as the impact on the environment, but threats on the ecosystem continue and fresh water resources are limited. Although wastewater treatments have reduced contamination and improved the quality of rivers, the generated waste product or sludge remains difficult to eliminate and poses serious safety and quality aspects of environmental concern. The reuse of municipal wastewater for land irrigation constitutes a practical method of disposal which is expected to decisively contribute to the handling and minimization of environmental problems arising from the disposal of wastewater effluents on land and into aquatic systems. Water reuse is of vital importance, mostly in water scarce regions, hence, marginal-quality water will become and increasingly important component of agricultural water supplies. In addition, many waste waters contain relatively high concentrations substances with commercially important applications, thus, such waste waters may be used as potential sources of added-value molecules. The book offers an interdisciplinary collection of studies and findings concerning waste water treatment, minimization and reuse. An attempt has been made through this book to provide a gist of current, relevant and comprehensive information on various aspects of waste water treatment technologies and waste water reutilization strategies. The book chapters were invited by the publisher and the authors are responsible for their statements. The accuracy of each chapter was checked by the authors through proof reading stages. Most of the chapters are based upon the ongoing research in the field. The book, which covers a wide spectrum of topics about waste water treatment technologies and waste water minimization strategies, is grouped in three different sections. The first section are related to bioremediation methods for waste water, the second section is focused on physicochemical methods for waste water treatment and the last section covers diff erent issues concerning waste water reuse and minimization. We hope that this book will be helpful for graduate students, environmental professionals and researchers. I especially appreciate the support and encouragement from Prof. Katarina Lovrecic throughout the whole publishing process and I would also like to thank the authors for their contributions to the book. Fernando García Einschlag La Plata University Argentina