Toward Zero Liquid Discharge from Integrated Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant

Abstract

Water is considered among the most important, vital and crucial resources on earth. It is one of the basic ingredients utilized by living organisms and it is essential for achieving economic and social development in all countries over the world. The Mediterranean Countries, such as Palestine suffer from scarcity of fresh water and a significant water shortage while the demand of clean water is increasing. The water shortage can be attributed to different factors including agriculture consumption, industrialization, over pump of fresh water from aquifers, urbanization and socioeconomic development. The use of recycled water could help solving part of the region’s water problems. Moreover, many lands in the Mediterranean Countries, including Palestine, are affected by incoming desertification processes, which hinder the development and conservation of a normal agricultural and touristic economy. The specific problems to be addressed in the near future are the fresh water shortage and quality and the use of the recycled water to fill part of the gap. In this paper we discuss different approaches for wastewater recycling and water purification. The treatment of wastewater is capable of generating new water resources as an alternative for water shortage, for reuse in agriculture, and for protection of the ground water from pollution and health hazardous.