Issue 11, 2019

Ozone–UV net-zero water wash station for remote emergency response healthcare units: design, operation, and results

Abstract

Because disease pandemics can accelerate rapidly in areas with limited clean-water access, a portable greywater reuse system may be useful to provide wash water at emergency health care units. In this study, a novel fed-batch (hybrid continuous-batch flow) net-zero water (NZW), or nearly closed-loop, reuse system comprising screening, 5 μm filter, and ozone–UV advanced oxidation was designed, constructed, and tested for performance with simulated and actual human showers. Water quality was tested for compliance with US drinking water standards, total organic carbon < 0.5 mg L−1, and pathogen inactivation including 12 log10 virus, 10 log10 protozoa, and 9 log10 bacteria as has been recommended for direct potable reuse. Energy, operation, and maintenance requirements were also evaluated, along with the system's capacity to handle shock events such as unintentional contamination with urine. Design goals were achieved without the addition of GAC point-of-use filter, except compliance with bromate and nitrate drinking water standards, which were met only for temporary use of up to three years per person. A capacity of 32 showers per day at 1920 W continuous power is projected, without generation of potentially-infectious concentrate. To avoid the further increase in system weight and energy demand needed to address urine input, future integrated urine diversion and collection, and system drain-and-fill following detection of urine in recycled water by electrical conductivity, are suggested for the field unit. Field testing is recommended. Further research should focus on potential need for bromate/nitrate mitigation, and longer-term study of microbiological inactivation.

Graphical abstract: Ozone–UV net-zero water wash station for remote emergency response healthcare units: design, operation, and results

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Feb 2019
Accepted
29 Aug 2019
First published
03 Sep 2019

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2019,5, 1971-1984

Author version available

Ozone–UV net-zero water wash station for remote emergency response healthcare units: design, operation, and results

L. W. Gassie, J. D. Englehardt, N. E. Brinkman, J. Garland and M. K. Perera, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2019, 5, 1971 DOI: 10.1039/C9EW00126C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements