Wastewater Nutrient Recovery Using Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Permeate for Hydroponic Fertigation
Graduation Year
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.E.V.
Degree Name
MS in Environmental Engr. (M.S.E.V.)
Department
Environmental Engineering
Degree Granting Department
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Major Professor
Daniel H. Yeh, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Albert Robert Rubin, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Piet Lens, Ph.D.
Keywords
Decentralized Treatment, Hydroponics, Sustainability, Urban Agriculture, Wastewater Reuse
Abstract
The imbalance between global population growth and resource consumption is indicative of unsustainable practices and foreshadows a grim future of continued resource depletion, food and water scarcity, social inequality, and deteriorating public and environmental health. Meanwhile, the urban centers of the world continue to experience exponential growth resulting in overwhelmed food, water, and sanitation infrastructure. Decentralized and satellite wastewater treatment technologies capable of resource recovery, such as anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR), foster synergistic opportunities to help manage the food, energy, and water sectors of urban environments. Specifically, the nutrient concentration and high effluent quality of permeate produced by AnMBR systems present applicability in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). The efficacy of AnMBR permeate is evaluated in a hydroponics growth study of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) grown in an outdoor greenhouse and tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) grown indoors. Nutrient analysis of permeate generated by a small, pilot scale AnMBR developed for the treatment of domestic wastewater at ambient temperature indicated sufficient concentrations of N and P elements, however high proportion of NH4+ in N species decreased growth performance. Opportunities for optimizing AnMBR permeate for hydroponics applications exist and thus imply synergistic integration of decentralized AnMBR technology with controlled environment agriculture (CEA) such as hydroponics. A model is proposed for the integration of decentralized AnMBR and CEA systems capable of producing usable plant products within the urban environment. The integration of these systems is proposed as a solution to the challenges of with food security, stressed water supplies, and environmental degradation associated with unchecked urban growth in the developing and developed world
Scholar Commons Citation
Calabria, Jorge Luis, "Wastewater Nutrient Recovery Using Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Permeate for Hydroponic Fertigation" (2014). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/5348
