Integrating Bio-treated Wastewater Reuse with Enhanced Water Use Efficiency to Support the

Green Economy in EU and India

NoveltyQualitative/aesthetic improvementof SE for reusing in IAAF system,a synergistic hybrid model ofconstructed wetland (CWL) withbeneficial emergent and floatingmacrophytes was adopted.The CWL is a green technologyfor treating SE requiring lowenergy, simple construction withlocally available materials andskills, less maintenance, user andenvironment friendlyIt is highly adaptable anddeployable at small/large scale asper needs

RAW

CWL-

C1

CWL-

C3

CWL-

Out

let

Fish

tank

Fish

tank

out

let

Sugar effluent treatment

Water quality changes

Spirogyra sp.Amphora sp.

Phormidium sp.

Typha Angustifolia

Duckweed

Wolffia arrhiza

Algae

Inlet

Out

let

VF HFVFHF VFCross section of sub surface water flow vertical &

horizontal in wetland

C2C2 C5C5C1C1 C3C3 C4C4

Hydraulic loading : 2.91 m/day, Retention time : 6.5 days

Rate of inflow : 19.44 m3/day, Rate of outflow : 17.70 m3/day

Clay Soil

Treated SE

Fresh water

Sandy Soil

Fresh water

Treated SE

SALTMED ModelingSoil analysis at different depth reveals analkaline nature

Fresh water irrigated clay soil has thehighest salinity at the depth of 0-10 cm,falls under the class of slightly saline tomoderately saline (FAO, 1998).

Voices of farmers during exposure visit to IAAF systemLow cost technology reducing colour & odour

Admired IAAF system and the luxuriant fish growth

Interested to replicate at farmer’s field level to get dual benefit

AgricultureShoot length ofsugarcaneirrigated withtreated SEincreased by41% and 44% insandy and claysoil ascompared tofresh watercontrol

AquacultureSurvival: 95%

Luxuriant growth

Good health

No disease break

Treated SE safefor fish culture

Fertilizer savingsNitrogen- 37.6%

Potassium -100%

Water quality changes and its mechanisms• SE after treatment became clear, colour and odour less• pH changes from alkaline to neutral where fish culture contributed

significantly• Removal of COD, Potassium, total alkalinity and phosphate was

92, 82, 70 and 62 per cent• Presence of Chlorococcum sp. indicates good quality of water• IAAF system is an efficient way of reusing treated sugar effluent (SE)

to gain dual productivity from aqua and agriculture production systemand an adaptive method for water scarce situations

Fres

h w

ater

Trea

ted

wat

er

San

dy s

oil

Cla

y so

il

Aquaculture

T1 R2

T1 R4

T3 R1

T3 R3

T3 R2

T1 R3

T2 R2

T2 R4

T4 R1

T4 R3

T4 R2

T2 R3

T1 R1 T2 R1

T3 R4 T4 R4

Agriculture IAAF system at Lakshmipuram

sugarcane cultivation

Enhancing quality of sugar effluent (SE) through hybrid model of vertical and horizontal flow constructed wetland and its reuse in an Integrated Aqua-Agro Farming (IAAF) system

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 160.0

T1

T2

T1

T2

Clay

soil

Sand

y soi

l

14.5

14.7

12.9

12.9

11.8

10.4

10.3

10.8

150.6

104.5

139.9

99.2

115.6

91.5

111.8

104.5

5.3

4.6

4.6

4.5

Index leaf widthIndex leaf lengthStem lengthCane girthNo. of leaves

Biometrics of sugarcane 180 DAS

Units in Nos./ cm

Soil

type

and

trea

tmen

ts

Hybrid CWL treatment system Emerging & floating macrophytes

Contact:Dr. Sophia J D (sophia@mssrf.res.in)Dr. Ajay Parida (ajay@mssrf.res.in)Dr. Jastin Samuel (jastinsamuel@mssrf.res.in)Ms.Poorani D G (pooranidg@mssrf.res.in)

Address: Dr.J.D.Sophia

M S Swaminathan Research FoundationIII Cross Road, Institutional Area, Taramani

Chennai-600113, India

BacterialStage 1

PhycoStage 2

Bio charStage 3

PhytoStage 4

Anaerobic treated DE Reuse

Indigenous adapted bacteria Teribacillus sp.,Bacillus enclensis

Exiguobacterium indicum, Pseudomonas sp.

Adapted algaeMerismopedia sp.

Phacus sp

Activatedcharcoal

Constructedwetland

Sesuvium portulacastrum

Algal growth in DE

Merismopedia sp.

Phacus sp.

• DE quality enhanced significantly on reduction of COD BOD, Colour,TSS, Sulphate, Nitrate and calcium

• Bacterial treatment enhanced pH and melanoidin degradation whichenabled penetration of sunlight contributing for adaption and growth ofalgae

• Growing algal cells favoured degradation, adsorption and settlement ofcontaminants

• Activated charcoal removed the contaminants and biomass before phytoremediation

• Using halophyte Sesuvium portulacastrum for salinity reduction is beingexperimented

Sequential bio-remediation process

• Sequential treatment of adapted bacterial &

algal consortia followed by phyto remediation

is a novel and low cost approach to enhance

treatment efficiency

• Adapted bacterial consortium degraded

melanoidin

• Growth of Phacus sp. and Merismopedia sp.

in DE is reported for first time

• Activated charcoal acts as a filter media

• Halophyte is a potential phyto-remediant for

reducing salinity

ABCDEFGH

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Cana indica rhizosphere soil as a consortium for phenol Degradation at different concentration0h 24h 36h 60h

Among the 4, Cana indica rhizosphere consortia showed efficient phenoldegradation at 1000 mg/l at 60th hour. The rate of degradation isconcentration dependent

T1- cobsBiometric monitoring

T2- cob T3- cob

Sesuvium portulacastrum

Suaeda maritima

No significantdifference inmacro andmicronutrients ofsweet cornkernels betweentreatments wasfound whichindicated that thequality of crop isnot affected(Analysis byICRISAT)

Halophyte cultivation using bio-treated wastewater

Crop : Halophytes

Species : Sesuvium portulacastrum and Suaeda maritima• Field trials indicate both species survive and grow

luxuriantly in bio-treated distillery effluent• Halophytes have potential for using in soil reclamation and

phyto-remediation• Studies to explore removal of salinity from bio-treated DE

through CWL is progressing

• Economic values: Food, fodder, bio-fuel, edible oil, bio-salt

• It has scope for cultivating as crop in saline affected soil

T1 bio-treated DE, T2 Anaerobic treated DE, T3 - fresh water

Sweet corn irrigated with T1 performed significantly better 48.6 %

yield higher than T2

Mortality in T2 irrigated plot was nearly 15% while 27% of the

plants had stunted growth with no yield

Pathogens were below the permissible limit in the harvested soil

Sweet corn cultivation using bio-treated wastewater

Sequential bio-remediation process to enhance distillery effluent (DE) quality and its reuse in agriculture

Cost effective hybrid treatment sequence combining bacterial, phyco and phyto remediation process is vital for improving quality of DE to minimise the adverse effects on soil, water, air, human and animal health

Integrating Bio-treated Wastewater Reuse with Enhanced Water Use Efficiency to Support the

Green Economy in EU and India

Wastewater treatment and its reuse takes a little effort on our part but

makes a big difference to the future world