ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND COST-EFFECTIVE SEWAGE TREATMENT USING PHYTORID TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

The process of design, construction and operation of sewage treatment plant (STP) requires multi-disciplinary approach. Numerous conventional methods are available for design of sewage treatment plants. The process involved in these treatments is either aerobic, anaerobic or combination requiring number of mechanical and electrical items thereby requiring substantial energy. The ever growing need of energy makes the design, operation and maintenance of STP a challenging task. The conventional method of sewage treatment can be made efficient by advanced technologies and intelligent supervision but this in turn increases the total cost. However, root zone technology developed by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute treats the sewage by phytorid plant. It is found from the study carried out on nine STPs at various locations in Pune and Mumbai in Maharashtra (India) that the sewage treatment by phytorid technology uses only 20% of the energy as compared to conventional sewage treatment plants. It is thus concluded that phytorid technology is the future for sewage treatment.