IJSEA Volume 13 Issue 11

Solar-Enhanced Waste Stabilization Ponds: A Comparative Analysis of Reflector Shapes for Optimizing Urban Wastewater Treatment

Ekene Jude Nwankwo
10.7753/IJSEA1311.1017
keywords : BOD, faecal coliform, reflector, solar radiation, temperature, ANOVA

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The extensive land requirement is a primary barrier to the adoption of waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) in urban areas. Solar-Enhanced Waste Stabilization Ponds (SEWSPs) address this limitation by incorporating reflectors to intensify solar radiation, thereby enhancing pollutant removal efficiency and reducing land usage. This study assessed the performance of plane and parabolic reflectors in SEWSPs, hypothesizing that the parabolic reflector, due to its unique optical and geometric properties, would concentrate solar radiation more effectively than the plane reflector. Samples from the influent and effluent valves of a pilot-scale facultative SEWSP were analyzed for 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD?) and fecal coliform (FC), demonstrating that pollutant removal efficiency varied with temperature, which was influenced by reflector shape. Suitability of standard ANOVA for mean comparisons was assessed, and robust alternatives were considered. At a 5% significance level, the Games-Howell Q-test indicated that the parabolic reflector significantly improved BOD (p = 0.024) and FC (p = 0.002) removal over the control, while the plane reflector showed no significant enhancement. These findings suggest that concentrating solar radiation in WSPs could enhance treatment efficiency and reduce land demands, positioning SEWSPs as a viable wastewater treatment option for urban environments.
@artical{e13112024ijsea13111017,
Title = "Solar-Enhanced Waste Stabilization Ponds: A Comparative Analysis of Reflector Shapes for Optimizing Urban Wastewater Treatment ",
Journal ="International Journal of Science and Engineering Applications (IJSEA)",
Volume = "13",
Issue ="11",
Pages ="75 - 83",
Year = "2024",
Authors ="Ekene Jude Nwankwo"}