IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i22p16121-d1283769.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Disinfection of Rainwater for Economic Purposes

Author

Listed:
  • Monika Zdeb

    (Department of Water Purification and Protection, The Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Rzeszow University of Technology, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland)

  • Dorota Papciak

    (Department of Water Purification and Protection, The Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Rzeszow University of Technology, Al. Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland)

Abstract

Rainwater storage systems are one of the elements of the implementation of sustainable water management. The use of rainwater in households or public buildings reduces the consumption of water supply water for purposes that do not require very good quality water. In crisis situations, rainwater could also be a source of water for drinking and hygiene. In order to use rainwater, it must comply with sanitary quality standards. This paper presents the results of research on the disinfection of rainwater and the possibility of its safe use in the economy as an alternative to tap water. The elements of the proposed pretreatment and disinfection system were selected adequately for the quality of the collected rainwater and its intended use. The aim was to obtain water safe for drinking and hygienic purposes. Rainwater was collected from a roof covered with ceramic tiles, and then subjected to prefiltration, ultrafiltration and disinfection with UV rays. Water before and after treatment was characterized on the basis of a number of microbiological parameters (total number of bacteria at 37 °C and 22 °C; number of coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli , Enterococci , Pseudomonas aeruginosa ) and the content of nutrients (TOC, ammonium nitrogen, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates). The use of ultraviolet radiation allowed for the complete removal of indicator bacteria and a significant reduction in the total number of bacteria, from nearly 2500 CFU/mL to 25 CFU/mL for bacteria at 22 °C and from 2010 CFU/mL to 18 CFU/mL for bacteria at 37 °C. The effectiveness of rainwater disinfection, its microbiological stability after disinfection and the time after which the bacterial microflora regenerates, as well as the possibility of using rainwater for drinking and hygienic purposes after disinfection, was determined.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika Zdeb & Dorota Papciak, 2023. "Disinfection of Rainwater for Economic Purposes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:16121-:d:1283769
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/16121/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/16121/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yenifer González & Gloria Gómez & Gabriela E. Moeller-Chávez & Gladys Vidal, 2023. "UV Disinfection Systems for Wastewater Treatment: Emphasis on Reactivation of Microorganisms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Vialle, C. & Busset, G. & Tanfin, L. & Montrejaud-Vignoles, M. & Huau, M.-C. & Sablayrolles, C., 2015. "Environmental analysis of a domestic rainwater harvesting system: A case study in France," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 178-184.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jing, Xueer & Zhang, Shouhong & Zhang, Jianjun & Wang, Yujie & Wang, Yunqi, 2017. "Assessing efficiency and economic viability of rainwater harvesting systems for meeting non-potable water demands in four climatic zones of China," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 74-85.
    2. Peterson, Eric Laurentius, 2016. "Transcontinental assessment of secure rainwater harvesting systems across Australia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 33-47.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:16121-:d:1283769. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.