Can the effluent of secondary treatment of pulp and paper plant be used for irrigation?

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A free chlorine plant of pulp and paper will be installed near Orinoco River in Venezuela and the effluent has to be reused because it will not be discharged to the river. The expected concentration of BOD will be low but the COD will be around 800 mg/L and the real color will be dark too. The secondary treatment will be an activated sludge process selector type.

Can this water be used for irrigation of fields? What are the risks?

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25 Answers

  2. Very Interesting idea and a smart one. However, for that to happen make sure the wastewater treatment plant has a high COD capacity. Otherwise it should be fine.

  3. Bioremediation

    It will be a very good idea that the effluent after treatment be recycled by the industry again.I can help get almost pure water from the effluent using a bacteria and a fungus and the water be almost near normal water free of all additives and can be easily reused. Infact all the heavy metals can also be reused and the fungus shall help develop a product that can be reused by soap and toothpaste industries. Options open.

    Thanks

  4. Use of bleached pulp & paper mill effluent reuse for irrigation

    The secondary treated process effluent from a pulp & paper facility can be used as reuse water for irrigation, and this is practiced in many parts of the globe - but to know if this is an appropriate application in your case you need to determine what dissolved contaminants are associated with the residual COD and color, and take into consideration the nature of the vegetation you are proposing to irrigate - particularly if they are food crops.  To give you an idea, the following is a link to a study that contemplates a similar reuse application.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21045344

    You also have to consider the agronomic and hydrogeological aspects.  A mill operates year-round, but year-round irrigation is seldom required.  Typically irrigation with reuse water is practiced with the intent of meeting evapotranspiration needs, as excess could result in saturated soils, soil erosion, and groundwater contamination.  If there is groundwater extraction nearby, or potential for seepage into surface water courses, you will need to assess the impact of residual contaminants on those water sources. The agronomic assessment also needs to take into consideration the amount of salts being applied to the soil, as salts can severely damage the soil structure as well as plants.

     

  5. Hi, to my personal opinion i believe tha pulp waste water can be utilised in irrigation farm after determining oll the water indicators paramers meet international standard of disposal and environmental protection act. Here you need to involve an expert to determine soil PH, to came up with right recommendation before you came up with project.

  7. Can the effluent of secondary treatment of pulp and paper plant be reused for irrigation?'

    In response to your question, Reuse of wastewater for domestic and agricultural purposes has been occurring since historical times. However, planned reuse is gained importance only two or three decades ago, as the demands for water dramatically increased due to technological advancement, population growth, and urbanization, which put great stress on the natural water cycle. Reuse of wastewater for water-demanding activities, which, so far consumed limited freshwater resources is, in effect, imitating the natural water cycle through engineered processes. Several pioneering studies have provided the technological confidence for the safe reuse of reclaimed water for beneficial uses. While initial emphasis was mainly on reuse for agricultural and non-potable reuses, the recent trends prove that there are direct reuse opportunities to applications closer to the point of generation.

  8. While I am for the reuse of waters as this resource is precious however, I am surprised that these waters would be allowed to be use for irrigation. COD of 800mg/l is high and the lack of information whether other parameters are effectively removed. The waters have to be further treated, tested and certified okay for discharge or reuse. Not a speculative person but I sensed the want to use as irrigation waters so to bypass discharge into waterways which might be monitored

  9. Hi Lenin (I like you name by the way!) The process to determine whether you can or can not use the effluent should be based on the risks assessment matrix where you look at the risks from three angles: (1) risks with quality of incoming raw water; (2) risks associated with treatment process, and (3) risks associated with the end use of effluent (irrigation of the wood plantation?). This risks assessment should inform the controls required at all three stages. To speculate on the treatment process without this risks assessment would be more "gambling" than engineering... Activated sludge treatment is generally a good process for municipal sewage treatment, not sure it is best suited for your application. Good luck with your project! Regards, Iouri

  10. Let the suspended matter in this waste water settle down. Then use sprinkler irrigation on a tiny experimental plot. Select a variety of crops to see their tolerance. You should have mentioned the total volume of effluent per day; the rainfall in the area and the depth of water table below the ground level.

  11. Firstly, I want to ask is there any water reused standard in Venezuela? If yes, you should obey the standard. If no, we could discuss this issue in SECOUNDLY. Secoundly, irrigation water quality is based on several factors, such as COD, BOD, pH, heavy metals and so on. So only one or two characteristic (COD and BOD) could not reflect the real quality of this treated water. Meanwhile, the effluent COD concentration is around 800mg/L, and the color is dark, in my experience, this effluent can`t be used for irrigation, because in my country (China), this effluent can`t be considered as TREATED WATER. The contamination concentration is too high! Further treatment is required, then you could consider the reuse matter.

  12. If it is untreated, the effluent from pulp and paper industry cannot be used for irrigation. But if chemical+biological treatment plant operates for primary treatment and then membrane bioreactors (MBR) operates for reduction for organic substances, the effluent of plants can use for irrigation. We serve best water monitoring station for influent and effluent water quality parameters. In your monitor, You can show 80 parameter results and the system is compatible for river basin management system. Please visit www.worldwaterhub.fi . For all detailed information about treatment process design and Water Management contents; gokselvatan@suakademisi.com.tr

  14. If it is untreated, the effluent from pulp and paper industry cannot be used for irrigation of edible fruits or crops because of its heavy organic pollution. However, it could be used for irrigation of crops which are not used for human consumption.

  15. water for irrigation

    Lenin:

    Para contestar tu pregunta, debemos de conocer la normatividad que aplica en Venezuela para el reuso de agua tratada, en Mexico tenemos la NOM-003-SEMARNAT-1997 (la puedes revisar en internet), para reuso en riego de areas verdes.

    Tambien se requiere un analisis fisico quimico del agua secundaria.

    El proceso mas efectivo para tratar aguas de esta industria es Ionizacion+DAF+Filtracion+Ozono

    Saludos

  16. French english Bonjour Bien sur que non et ce pour plusieurs raisons La concentration de pollution de chlore est trop importante. En plus à quoi va servir l'activation de boue activée? la boue est un élément non assimilable par la nature. Boue elle est, boue elle reste. Faire circuler de l'air dans ce milieu boueux n'aura aucune incidence sur son état. L'activation de la boue diminue la propention de celle ci à putréfier sous l'effet d'une forte méthanisation. En sortie du traitement cette boue sera identique à son entrée. Of course that not and this for several reasons The concentration of chlorine pollution is too important. Hello In more to what will be used activation as activated sludge? mud is a nonassimilable element by nature. Mud it is, mud it remains. To make circulate air in this muddy medium will not affect any its state. The activation of mud decreases the propention of that Ci to be putrefied under the effect of a strong methanisation. At exit of the treatment this mud will be identical to its entry.

  17. The treated municipal wastewater should not contain heavy metals. If the treated municipal wastewater meets the following guidelines, you can use treated wastewater, provided you do not use in spray form, and children are not immediately allowed in, say, park, where treated wastewater is used: Maximum levels Chloride, mg/l 350 Sodium, mg/l 230 Hardness, mg/l 80 CaCO3 TDS, mg/l 2,000 EC*, dS/m 3 SAR,** me/l 15 TDS, mg/l 2,000 Boron, mg/l 0.5 pH 6.5-8.5 Suspended solids, mg/l

  18. I wouldn´t recommend to use this treated wastewater in irrigation. Normally effluents of this type of industry has presence of AOX and other contaminants that can accumulate in the soil and be harmful. To use in irrigation it has to have a polishing treatment and it has to be selected soil and crops where this water will be applied.

  19. Can the effluent of secondary treatment of pulp and paper plant be reused for irrigation?

    The water in the effluent can be used for irrigation after extraction of the water. We will not remove the pollution out of the effluent, but we will extract the pure water. This water can be used for irrigation, but without the nutrient

  20. Raw polluted water is often contaminated and can cause environmental harm and pose health risks

    In my opinion, reused for irrigation of the effluent of secondary treatment of pulp and paper plant is very crucial  in the last quarter of the 20th century's plant production. In the  use of polluted water for irrigation is becoming increasingly common in countries that do not have enough clean water. However, raw polluted water is often contaminated and can cause environmental harm and pose health risks. Nevertheless, it is often used without any significant pretreatment, a practice mistakenly considered safe. If water is viewed as an economic good and a finite resource that should be valued and managed in a rational manner.  I think current environmental policies should aim to control pollution and to maximize recycling and reuse of GW within households and communities. We know that water quality criteria have been widely established for a number of traditional water quality variables such as pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand for periods of five or seven days (BOD5 and BOD7), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrients . Especially in countries with rivers affected by severe organic pollution, it  should be  established of control strategies to decrease the potential for oxygen depletion and the resultant low BOD and COD levels.

  21. Hello, I have researched Brazilian Laws on COD, and for pulp and mill it is allow up to 300 mg/l regarding this parameter. This legislation comes from Parana State as proposal, but I guess the national records are not so different ( http://www.mma.gov.br/port/conama/processos/EFABF603/Prop.ResolGOV_PR_2oGTLancamentoEfluentes_17e18nov08.pdf). I conclude that it is risky to allow 800 mg/l. Also, you should look at other compounds employed in production process that can improve COD and analyse them together. Best regards.

  23. I agree that the N P K and sodium content will be high. It could therefore be possibly tried initially on barren soils to test the potential rise in their concentration. This will then throw a clear idea of its impact in zones with sufficient supply of life supportive nutrients. Corrective measures could then facilitate usage with a warning. Alkaline soils normally do not leach heavy metals.

  24. Patrick A. Grimaud

    The wastewater will most propably contain a high level of heavy metals.

    Wastewater from paper mill has a relative high concentration of carbonates and tendency to precipitate calcium in the soil as CaCO3. It will increase the proportion of sodium to calcium and magnesium and sodium.

    Irrigation with paper mill effluent will led to an increased pH. The concentration of N, P, K and Na will be high.

    The dark colour prevent the natural photosynthesis process due to absence of sunlight penetration.

    The propose wastewater must be analysed and treated accordingly before used to irrigation. Patrick