Reviving Wastewater For Sustainable Agriculture
Amjad M. Mounir, Omar A. Sobaih, Yousef G. Massaud, and Younes M. Tadros
Gharbiya STEM High School
Mrs. Shimaa Ramadan / G11 Capstone Leader
December 17, 2023
2
Abstract
Increasing the sources of clean water and agricultural bases of Egypt, stands to
attract our consideration in this project, as two major challenges facing Egypt
nowadays. With approximately 85% of Egypt's freshwater resources dedicated to
agricultural irrigation, significant water losses exist. Our innovative solution
focuses on repurposing and treating car wash wastewater for watercress plant
irrigation, aiming to alleviate both water scarcity and support sustainable
agriculture. The core of the project involves 3 treatment stages, which are electric
coagulation, sand filtration, and chlorella algae treatment. These stages were used
to reduce toxic substances like pH, Cl, Hg, COD, and BOD from the wastewater,
ensuring its suitability for watercress plant irrigation. After testing, two results
were recorded. Due to using few, small-sized plates and low voltage in chemical
treatment, the water wasn’t enough filtered. After some modifications, the success
of the solution was proved by the reduction of pH from 7.5 to 7.19, a 63% decrease
in chlorine, a remarkable reduction of 90% in both BOD and COD, and a drop in
mercury concentration by 98.7%, which meet the chosen design requirements. The
conclusions drawn from our analysis indicate that the water treated in the third
stage of the treatment process, the final one, was even cleaner than the city water.
This exceptional cleanliness led to a superior growth rate for watercress plants
irrigated with the final treated wastewater compared to those irrigated with city
water; even though, it’s very sensitive for the toxins in car washing water.
Keywords: Activated Carbon – Chlorella – Car Wash – Electric Coagulation
– Watercress
3
Introduction
Egypt’s excessive water usage for irrigation or other purposes has created an
urgent need to increase and manage water resources. The heavy dependence on the
Nile River for getting water and the estimation of losing about 7 billion liters
annually, highlight the importance of solving the challenge of increasing and
managing water resources (Goodman, 2021).
The treatment of polluted wastewater with as few as possible stages is
crucial in mitigating this problem. Various solutions have been developed to
address this problem, including the Bahr El-Baqar plant in Egypt, one of the
largest wastewater treatment plants in the world with a capacity of 5.6 million
cubic meters per day, which uses three stages of filtration. The water is screened to
remove large particles. Then it undergoes coagulation and flocculation which allow
the small particles to clump together making it easy to remove. After that,
disinfection takes place where chlorine is added to kill bacteria. Its large capacity
makes it a reliable source of water supply and leads to economic development in
Egypt; however, the process is costly, energy-consuming, and contributes to
carbon emissions (State Information Service Your Gateway to Egypt, 2022).
Another treatment is the Al-Khafji plant in Saudi Arabia with a capacity of
90,000 m3 per day. The water undergoes three stages of filtration. The first stage is
sedimentation tanks or clarifiers, where gravity allows heavier particles to settle at
the bottom while clarified water is collected from the top. After that the water
undergoes activated sludge or trickling filters where microorganisms present in
these systems break down organic compounds, converting them into harmless
byproducts like carbon dioxide and water. They may use the third step and may
not, depending on the purity of the water. If so, they use sand filters or disinfection
(Vision 2030, 2020).
4
As the car washing water was the selected wastewater. It was found that this
water contains different types of contaminates. Our design requirements were to
reduce the amount of Cl, Hg, PH, COD, and BOD, and use as few as possible
stages of water filtration to improve the plant’s growth, which is watercress. The
advantage of the filtration process of the Bahr El-Baqar plant was utilized in our
chosen solution as the electric coagulation and sand filters were chosen to be the
main processes because of their relatively low cost, and their high efficiency. The
advantage of using the minimum stages was utilized from the Al-Khafji plant as
after the two main processes, the water will be suitable for irrigation which will
notably reduce the cost.
5
Materials & Methods
Table 1
Materials with details and total cost
No. Item Amount Usage Cost Source Picture
1 Pot 15 pots Contains plants 10 L.E. Garden
(each) Center
2 Watercress plant 100 gm Test validity range of the 10 L.E. Plantation
of seeds purified water
3 Chlorella 500 ml Remove toxins and heavy …… Faculty of
Vulgaris Algae metals Science
4 Container 2 pieces Container of the chemical 40 L.E. Plastic Shop
treatment process and pots
5 Aluminum plates 4 plates The plates of E.C. treatment. 40 L.E.
Electronics
shop
6 Crocodile wires 8 pieces Conducing electricity. 5 L.E.
7 Funnel 1 piece Prevent water wasting while 5 L.E. Market
transferring or pouring
between containers.
8 Cotton 3 packets Improve the sand physical 5 L.E. Pharmacy
filtration.
9 Gravel 250 gm Remove the large …… School Geo
particles from the Lab
water.
10 Activated 30 gm Decreasing the amount of 50 L.E. Filters store
Carbon chlorine.
Total Cost: 510 L.E.
6
To start the journey of the construction of the prototype using the materials
mentioned in Table (1). The prototype is divided into two parts: the filtration
process, and the planting process.
For the filtration process:
First step: the preparationfor the Figure 1
electric coagulation (E.C.): This step started by Electric Coagulation treatment
preparing the suitable electrode for the electric
coagulation which was Aluminum steel. After
preparing the container and the water, the
electric coagulation was set up by
connecting the electrode to a
power source and placing it in the liquid sample
as shown in (fig 1). Once the coagulation
process is complete, the electrodes
were removed from the wastewater and were let to dry.
Second step: the preparation for the physical filtration: Figure 2
Sand Filter
This step was started by setting up the container that will hold the
filtration materials. Begin by placing cotton at the bottom of the
container, followed by a thick layer of sand, then activated carbon,
and finally a layer of gravel on top as shown in (fig 2). This will
create the layers needed for effective physical filtration of water.
Figure 3
Third step: the preparation for the biological filtration: Chlorella
The chlorella was added to the water, allowing it to absorb pollutants
and grow, then removing it and repeating the process as needed.
7
For the planting process:
First step: the preparation of the pots and the soil: This step involved
mixing the sand with the clay to make a soil
contains 50% clay and 50% sand. After that, this mixture was put in 15 pots.
Second step: planting the watercress: After preparing the pots, watercress
seeds were scattered on the soil, and they were covered by a thin layer of the soil.
Third step: the irrigation of the plant:
Figure 4
The pots were divided into 5 groups; each Planting Process
contained 3 pots. The first group was irrigated
by the city water, the second by the car-
washing water, the third by the water that
passed through one filtration stage, the fourth
by the water that passed through two filtration
stages, and the fifth by the water that passed
through all filtration stages as shown in (Fig 4).
Test plan:
To test the success of the prototype, Watercress was removed from the soil, taking
care not to cut its roots. Putting the plants in a flat, stable table, and preparing the
right tools for measuring the length of the stem, root, and the leaves, helped us to
reach the best accuracy. The dimensions of the plant were measured by using
vernier caliper, and the water sample was taken to laboratory to analyze it.
8
Results
Negative Trial: The wastewater wasn't enough filtered in electric
coagulation. As a result, the amount of suspended solids and particles was still
relatively high, negatively affecting the overall water quality for irrigation which
led to no growth for the watercress plant, irrigated with this treated water.
Positive Trial: (Table 2) shows the decreasing of the amount of targeted
toxins after water treatment.
Table 2
Water Analysis before and after treatment
Amount of toxin Chloride (Cl) Mercury (Hg) pH COD BOD
Before treatment 152 mg/l 0.1 mg/l 7.5 410 mg/l 315 mg/l
After treatment 56 mg/l 0.0007 mg/l 7.19 48 mg/l 29 mg/l
For the test of the plants, 3 plants were taken from each pot of the five pots.
The results, shown in the (Table 3), show a notable difference in the growth of the
plants that were irrigated with the car washing water compared to those irrigated
with the treated water.
Table 3
Data Collection of watercress plant gathered after the test plans for 25 days, each test every 5 days.
measurements Days 1st 2nd 3rd Wastewater City
treatment treatment treatment water
Avg. stem 10 days 2.87 3.07 3.3 2.3 3.17
length in 15 days 4.87 5.13 5.3 4.17 5.2
centimeters 20 days 5.0 5.27 5.4 4.65 5.23
25 days 6.70 6.01 6.67 4.7 6.6
Avg. root 10 days 0.57 0.63 0.67 0.4 0.7
length in 15 days 1.37 2.17 2.3 0.64 2.34
centimeters 20 days 2.19 2.23 2.62 1.95 2.74
25 days 2.47 2.62 3.12 1.85 2.13
Avg. leave 10 days 1.9 1.8 2 1.73 2.27
length in 15 days 3.34 3.4 3.1 2 2.43
centimeters 20 days 4.64 5.27 4.45 2.03 4.58
25 days 6.37 6.22 8.95 1.85 6.23
9
Analysis
Although, Egyptian government’s awareness about the consequences of the
grand challenges, their impacts are continuously increasing. Our focus is on two
critical issues: managing and increasing the availability of clean water resources
and expanding agricultural bases to meet the burgeoning demands of a rapidly
growing populace. To solve these problems many solutions were suggested. But
building a water treatment plant and using its water for irrigation was the ideal one
to save the water supplies (ES.2.03).
After making an analysis of the polluted water, it was found that it has a
high concentration of some toxins that are harmful in irrigation water. The amount
of mercury was 0.1 mg/L. In addition, the amount of chloride was above 150
mg/L.
For selecting the suitable plant for irrigation, two options were available,
which are water cress shown in (Fig 5) and clover shown in (Fig 6). After
searching about both plants, it was found that water cress would be a better option
than clover. Water cress can adapt to the cooler climate than clover, making it a
better choice in winter. In addition, water cress is better able to thrive in the moist
environment than clover. So, it needs less irrigation water than clover and grows
better in this climate.
Figure 6 Figure 5
Watercress Clover
10
Electric coagulation (CH.2.01) is an electrochemical process for the
treatment of water- especially reducing the amount of COD, BOD, mercury, and
Chlorine- using electric current as shown in (Fig 7). In our prototype, Al plates
were used as electrodes. The mechanism of E.C. is given in the following
equations:
Figure 7
Anode reaction: 𝐴𝑙 → 𝐴𝑙3+ + 3𝑒−
Electric Coagulation Structure
Cathode reaction: 3𝐻2𝑂 + 3𝑒− → 2𝐻2 + 3𝑂𝐻−
Overall reaction: 𝐴𝑙 + 3𝑂𝐻 → 𝐴𝑙(𝑂𝐻)3
3+
In the overall reaction, aluminum hydroxide [𝐴𝑙(𝑂𝐻)3] used as a coagulant
which form flocs and absorbs dissolved and suspended pollutants of precipitation
(Ebba et al., 2022).
The physical filter mainly depends on the porosity, the number of open
spaces in the filter media, and permeability, the ability of water to flow through
(ES.2.01). It works by percolating the wastewater down through gravel, activated
𝑀𝑚
carbon, sand and cotton media by gravitational force through the law of:
𝐹 =𝐺
𝑟2
Where G represent the gravitational constant ( 6.67 × 10−11 N.m2/kg2 ), M the
mass of earth, m is the mass of water, r is the distance from the center of Earth
(PH.2.01). The gravel is responsible for removing the large particles and debris, the
sand removes the smaller particles and impurities, the activated carbon used for
removing organic matter, chroma, and residual chlorine (Benbow et al., 2012, pp.
370-385).
11
For the third treatment stage, the chlorella vulgaris algae was the ideal
biological treatment. Its main function in the system is to reduce the PH-by
producing H+ ions in the water by photosynthesis process (CH.2.03), COD, and
BOD from the polluted water. Using the ratio of 1:10, this treatment is applied by
adding algae to the polluted water and leaving it to grow by mitosis in the water,
producing many identical chlorella cells (BI.2.02). When the color of algae
becomes dark green, it is the time to remove it from the water as it consumed its
portion of the previously mentioned toxins (Kostkeviciene et al., 2017).
After finishing the prototype, two key tests were conducted: measuring the
reduction in the targeted toxic elements in water and assessing the growth rate of
the plant.
During testing the success of our filtration processes, two results were
obtained, one negative and one positive. The negative happened during the electric
coagulation process, as there was not any precipitation in the water. This happened
because of using a small number of Aluminum plates, only 2 plates, with small
size of 15cm*20cm, and because of using small voltage of 9V.
After adjusting by increasing the size of the Aluminum plates to 20 cm * 30
cm, using 4 plates instead of 2, and applying voltage of 32V, a huge amount of
precipitation was observed in the water. Taking the water sample that has purified
in the EC (Electric Coagulation) and passing it through the sand filter and putting
chlorella into it, the result of the measure of the targeted elements was as shown in
(Table 2).
12
Afterwards, the second trial showed extraordinary results with positive
results cracking the design requirements and succeeded in the test plan. The graphs
below display the test plans conducted every 5 days — between 28 November and
11 December 2023 — to follow the gradual growth of plants in all the pots.
Overall, the wastewater done without any treatments recorded the worst results as
expected while the third treatment recorded better growth than the city water
planting.
Stem length (Fig 8) started the period with about 3.2cm and increased gradually to
approximately 5.3cm on the 10th day across each treatment except the wastewater.
However, the treatments leveled off before the 20th day and fluctuated after the
20th for which the first and third treatments recorded remarkably growth.
Figure (9) illustrates the root measures that indicate awesome growth for the
3rd treatment. They showed various differentiations. For instance, the first
treatment growth remained constant for 10 days and then increased considerably
while the city water and the second treatment weren’t stable at all.
Leave length (Fig 10) analysis could beat all the possibilities and extracted
intensive results. While the first, second, and city water recorded similar results,
the 3rd treatment increased dramatically to hit the highest growth of the leaves
length of 8.9cm.
AVERAGE MEASURES
Figure 8
2.87
3.07
H
3.3
10T
2.3
AVERAGE MEASURES AVERAGE MEASURES 3.17
Figure 9
Figure 10
1.9 0.57
1.8 0.63
H
4.87
H
2 0.67 5.13
10T
10T
H
1.73 0.4 5.3
15T
2.27 0.7 4.17
Average stem length width different treatments
5.2
3.34 1.37
3.4 2.17
TIME (DAYS)
H
5
H
3.1 2.3
15T
15T
5.27
H
2 0.64 5.4
20T
Average root length width different treatments
Average leaves length with different treatments
2.43 2.34 4.65
5.23
TIME (DAYS)
TIME (DAYS)
4.64 2.19
5.27 2.23 6.7
H
4.45 6.01
20T
20T
2.62
H
2.03 1.95 6.67
25T
4.58 2.74 4.7
6.6
6.37 2.47
6.22 2.62
H
25T
25T
8.95 3.12
1.85 1.85
2.13
6.23
13
14
Conclusion
The conclusions drawn from analysis indicate that the water treated in the third
stage of the treatment process, the final one, was even cleaner than the city water.
This exceptional cleanliness led to a superior growth rate for watercress plants
irrigated with the final treated wastewater compared to those irrigated with city
water; even though, it’s very sensitive for the toxins in car washing water. The
success of the solution was proven by the reduction of pH from 7.5 to 7.19, a
decrease in chlorine from 152 mg/L to 56 mg/L, a remarkable reduction of 90% in
both BOD and COD, and a reduction in mercury concentration from 0.1mg/L to
0.007mg/L (almost 98.7%), which meet the chosen design requirements.
Additionally, the activated carbon used in the physical treatment effectively
reduces the amount of Cl (Chlorine) in treated wastewater. Moreover, by
increasing the Voltage (V) and the surface area of the aluminum sheets in Electric
Coagulation treatment, the chemical one, amount of Hg, BOD, and COD in the
wastewater decreases, and also various contaminants such as suspended solids,
heavy metals, and organic matter. Lastly, we utilized the electric coagulation
method instead of adding Alum to water and to avoid the use of additional
chemicals, aiming to reduce the environmental impact and to align with the SDGs
(sustainable development goals).
15
Recommendations
Finally, the project has come to an end. Here are some points that are
recommended to improve this project and ensure that it works more efficiently in
the future. These recommendations are as following:
More aluminum plates, with larger surface areas should be used To increase
the removal percentage of suspended solids in the polluted water.
Increasing the voltage used electric coagulation from 32 volts to 60 volts
will force more suspended solids to coagulate together and then fluctuate at
the bottom of the container.
Use fewer amounts of seeds planted in each pot to better expose it to the
sunlight, nutrients, and irrigation water.
Increasing the thickness of the filters, especially sand and cotton, will
improve the efficiency of physical filtration.
Depending on drip irrigation techniques on the large scale instead of flood
irrigation, as it would positively affect the plant growth and saves more
water while irrigating the pots, aligning with the SDGs (sustainable
development goals).
16
Literature Cited
Benbow, A., Carpenter, M., Hoover, M., Smith, M. J., & Southard, J. B. (2012). EarthComm
(2nd ed.). New York, United States of America: It's About Time Inc.
Ebba, M., Asaithambi, P., & Alemayehua, E. (2022, May 10). Development of
electrocoagulation process for wastewater treatment: optimization by response surface
methodology. Heliyon, VIII(5), 2. [Link]
Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO) . (2013, january 21). Egypt
Ministerial Decree No. 92 of 2013. Official Gazette No. 22 bis, 28 January 2013, 32 pp.,
22(3), 32. [Link]
Goodman, E. (2021, August 20). Dual Threats: Water Scarcity and Rising Sea Levels in Egypt.
[Link]
Kostkeviciene, J., Venckus, P., & Bendikiene, V. (2017, Jan). Green algae Chlorella vulgaris
cultivation in municipal wastewater and biomass composition. Journal of Environmental
Engineering and Landscape Management, XXV, 56-63.
[Link]
State Information Service Your Gateway to Egypt. (2022, December 9). Bahr El-Baqar
Wastewater Treatment Plant. [Link]
projects/bahr-el- baqar-wastewater-treatment-plant/
Vision 2030. (2020). AlKhafji Desalination Plant. Vision 2030.
[Link]
17
Acknowledgements
Firstly, thanks to Allah who helped us complete our work. Secondly, it is an honor
to give special thanks to the people who helped us in this work by supervising and
sharing our activities. Special thanks to Mr. Ahmed Khairy, Mrs. Shaimaa, Mrs.
Reem Serag, Mrs. Nany, Mrs. Enas, Mrs. Fayka, Mr. Hassan El-Ashmouny, and
Mrs. Mervat. Lastly, we ‘d like to thank the principal of our school, Mr. Ahmed
Emara.
For further information
Name Email
Amjad Mohamed Mounir amjad.1922013@[Link]
Omar Ahmed Sobaih omar.1922037@[Link]
Yousef Gamil Massaud yousef.1922062@[Link]
Youanes Maher Tadros youanes.1922061@[Link]