A new optional recycled water pre-treatment system prior to use in the household laundry.
With a constantly growing population, water scarcity becomes the limiting factor for further social and economic growth. To achieve a partial reduction in current freshwater demands and lessen the environmental loadings, an increasing trend in the water market tends to adopt recycled water for household laundries as a new recycled water application. The installation of a small pre-treatment unit for water purification can not only further improve the recycled water quality, but also be viable to enhance the public confidence and acceptance level on recycled water consumption. Specifically, this paper describes column experiments conducted using a 550 mm length bed of zeolite media as a one-dimensional flow reactor. The results show that the zeolite filter system could be a simple low-cost pre-treatment option which is able to significantly reduce the total hardness level of recycled water via effective ion exchange. Additionally, depending on the quality of recycled water required by end users, a new by-pass controller using a three-level operation switching mechanism is introduced. This approach provides householders sufficient flexibility to respond to different levels of desired recycled water quality and increase the reliability of long-term system operation. These findings could be beneficial to the smooth implementation of new end uses and expansion of the potential recycled water market. The information could also offer sound suggestions for future research on sustainable water management and governance.
Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
Zhuo
Z
Chen
Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address: HuuHao.Ngo@uts.edu.au.
Huu Hao
HH
Ngo
Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
Wenshan
W
Guo
Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
Thi Thu Nga
TT
Pham
School of the Environment, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
Richard
R
Lim
Key Lab of Northwest Water Resources, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China.
Xiaochang C
XC
Wang
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, PO Box 84, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444, Australia.
Clayton
C
Miechel
Gold Coast City Council, Gold Coast MC, QLD 9726, Australia.
Kelly O'
KO
Halloran
Sydney Olympic Park Authority, 7 Figtree Drive, Sydney, NSW 2127, Australia.
Andrzej
A
Listowski
City West Water, 247-251 St Albans Road, Sunshine, VIC 3020, Australia.
Nigel
N
Corby
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D007846:Laundering / Q000379:methods*; D059027:Recycling / Q000379:methods; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D014881:Water Supply
Household laundry; New application; Recycled water; Zeolite filter system