Emhanced pond efficiency through solar radiation

Abstract

The effect of enhanced solar radiation on the performance of waste stabilization pond (WSP) was investigated in this study. The analysis was performed with data collected from four pilot ponds operated in parallel; one without enhanced solar radiation and the rest with solar irradiation. The latter gave higher efficiency. Besides, faecal bacteria removal was significantly higher in the enhanced pond than in the conventional at 0.10 level of significance. The conventional model was modified to account for solar irradiation. Calculated faecal bacteria reduction using the enhanced model was in good agreement with measured data with coefficient of correlation and standard error of 0.93 and 0.010 respectively. Analysis of pond enhancement through solar radiation with respect to construction cost, operational and maintenance ease and accuracy of estimated design parameters were also discussed. Although the project is still ongoing, the preliminary results showed that land area could be reduced through solar radiation and at a lower cost, especially where the cost of land is high.

Keywords: Enhanced waste stabilization ponds, cost implication, bacteria reduction, conventional

Journal of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology, Volume 8, 2008