Innovation of conventional water treatment techniques in effluent reclamation

For reclamation of waste water treatment plant (wwtp) effluent, conventional water treatment techniques used in drinking water supply may be suitable. Earlier studies and experiments showed that the most promising cost-effective conventional techniques to polish wwtp effluent are coagulation and rapid multi-media filtration (direct filtration). In the past 4 years these techniques were tested in long term experiments on pilot scale (5-10 m³/h) at several waste water treatment plants in The Netherlands. For successful application of direct filtration for the removal of suspended solids and colloidal material careful consideration is needed with the coagulation conditions. However additional treatment is required to meet the standards for household and process water with respect to ammonium, colour, pathogens and (biodegradable) organic substances.