A Solar Disinfection Water Treatment System for Rural Areas / Jordan

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the efficiency of solar energy in treating any potential pollution of drinking water in dam lakes caused by human activity in rural areas. The water quality parameters include temperature, pH, conductivity, total suspended solids, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, NH4-N, NO3-N, HCO3, Cl-, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, SAR, B, K+, SO42-, and E-coli were monitored. Samples was collected during the summer and winter (during the filling period). The results showed a rapid decrease in microbial counts upon exposure to solar radiation. More than 98% reductions were achieved after 8 hours for the bacterial communities tested under different conditions. The rate of inactivation, however, varied and was mainly affected by water turbidity and temperature during the experiments. The results indicated that turbidity affected the efficiency of water disinfection, and the efficiency improves with longer exposure duration, implying that in high turbidity and severe weather conditions, exposure time must be increased to compensate for the effects of these factors. The water in the system should be exposed to at least eight hours before leaving to the storage tanks. When scaled up, the proposed method could be a vital tool in solar water disinfection technologies, particularly in isolated and rural locations. Using solar energy to disinfect polluted water will certainly reduce the usage of chlorination and or filtration in water treatment, reducing treatment costs while also protecting the environment.