Enhancement of Efficiency in Wastewater Treatment Reactor During Flooding

Climate change causes floods in various regions around the world. Many people suffered from lack of food, lack of water, and waterborne diseases. A wastewater treatment reactor was developed in this study, which could serve the community during flooding situations by heat from sunlight. The light intensity was an essential factor for the wastewater treatment efficiency of the reactor, so the reflectors, i.e., mirror and aluminum reflectors, were installed before treatment to increase the heat from sunlight. The results showed that both reflectors can increase the wastewater treatment efficiency of the reactor. The actual wastewater was tested in the reactor with an aluminum reflector. Ten water quality parameters, i.e., total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, turbidity, salinity, conductivity, nitrate, ammonia, total coliform concentration, and Escherichia coli (E.coli) concentration were analyzed. The results showed that the quality of the treated wastewater was at an acceptable level. It can be concluded that the mirror and aluminum reflectors can increase the intensity of sunlight, which can enhance wastewater treatment efficiency. Therefore, the reactor with the reflectors is recommended to be applied in the flooding area where the electricity is shut down.