Hydroelectropurification: A green approach to wastewater treatment

Availability of fresh water is reducing rapidly due to accelerated population growth and billions die annually due to waterborne diseases because of poorly treated wastewater supplied to households in trying to bridge the gap of fresh/reliable water source unavailability. Conventional water purification methods are adding to water contaminants due to chemical additives used and poor tertiary treatment. This project tests the hypothesis that a combined electrocoagulation and cold plasma technology system can make wastewater safe for reuse and aims to replace conventional chemical wastewater treatment methods with more efficient , chemical-free and ecofriendly solutions to ensure increased access to safely managed water services. Different types of contaminated or wastewater are to be electrocoagulated in a miniature system made from aluminium and a DC battery. The effluent is to be filtered then exposed to electromagnetic radiation using a kitchen microwave, in order to generate plasma in a low-cost experiment. The resultant water is to be tested for clarity, pH and hardness compared to tap water. The test is expected to yield clearer, softer water of a nearly neutral pH. Further experiments will investigate the bacterial content of the resultant water.