Performance of a Pilot-Scale Vermifilter for Domestic Wastewater Treatment

The vermifiltration has been considered as one of comparatively low-cost green technology, with low energy consumption, and less operation maintenance costs for the treatment of rural domestic wastewater. The present study shows the approach developed and employed to wastewater treatment utilizing the vermifiltration technique in a region with a population of approx. ۲۸۰ people. The domestic sewage from the residential area was fed into the system designed based on the combination of the sand filter and the vermifilter for ۴۵ days. The pH, electrical conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, and nitrate concentration of wastewater were measured before and after vermitreatment for the mentioned period. The results demonstrated that the unique combination of the vermifiltration system with the sand filter was able to reduce the electrical conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, and turbidity with removal efficiencies of ۸۰, ۸۰, ۶۰, and ۹۰ %, respectively. The quality of the treated wastewater complies with environmental standards.

Keywords:

Water reuse , Sewage treatment , Vermifilteration system , Electrical conductivity , Nitrate removal