BHUBANESWAR: A team of City-based CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT) has developed a wastewater treatment technology which can be set up with a minimum capital and run without electricity, chemicals or machineries. The technology named ‘Constructed Wetlands for treating wastewater’ is ideal for treatment of domestic and municipal wastewater in cities.
The technology involves a multi-layered process of adsorption, filtration, sedimentation, biological uptake, degradation, plant uptake, natural aeration and valorisation. During the course of treatment, the constructed wetlands produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide from atmosphere, senior scientist, IMMT Dr Asheesh Kumar Yadav said.
‘’Constructed wetlands are a sustainable wastewater treatment processes for mildly polluted water like sewage. It is one of the technologies which is appropriate for Indian situation and has the potential of replacing costly conventional treatment plants,’’ Yadav said.
The basin for a Wetland can be constructed with locally available soil and seepage of wastewater into the ground can be prevented by a barrier made of clay or polythene. Suitable aquatic vegetation can be planted to sustain the wetland, he said.
The team has already installed constructed wetlands on the premises of CRPF Campus and IMMT here. Being a multi-mechanism based process, wetlands are robust compared to other water treatment systems. An additional advantage is that the treated water can be used for agriculture, gardening or groundwater recharge purpose, sources in IMMT said.
On Tuesday, a technical team of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) led by Mayor AN Jena visited the sites where these plants have been set up. The BMC team assessed the feasibility of setting up such plants in other parts of the City. The BMC will be making a case study on setting up such plants in areas like Salia Sahi and Jadupur on a pilot basis, Jena said.
‘’With no operational cost, the wetland process has minimal maintenance costs, is simple to operate and treated water can be reused for gardening. The BMC will offer support to IMMT to set up these plants on individual households, apartments, slums and community sewage discharge locations,’’ Jena added.