Date-Palm Waste Usage for Low-cost Advanced Treatment for Domestic Wastewater in Arid regions

Arid countries suffer from the water shortage especially, with the recent high-water demand. It is crucial for governmental sectors and researchers to find a solution to this critical problem. This study introduces a possible solution through the reuse of treated wastewater. The proposed solution provides the reuse of the treated wastewater for unrestricted irrigation purposes. This solution also solves the problem of wastewater discharge into the environment and saves natural water resources. The work adopted a low-cost and advanced treatment method by using natural materials such as date-palm wastes. These wastes are abundant in arid countries and may introduce a problem also for their landfill. The study explored the possibility of using the date-palm waste as an absorbent material for the pollutants from domestic wastewater effluents. The research methodology relied on the experimental work on a lab scale. Leaching batch tests for this waste were adopted initially to evaluate its ions’ extraction into water. Then its ability for the purification of wastewater effluents was investigated through an absorption mechanism. Various parameters were examined in both processes such as the liquid to solid ratio (L/S), initial pH, and material size. In addition, different types of palm wastes were studied such as wastes from leaves, stems, and trunks. The results of leaching tests showed in general a high rate of release of many ions into distillated water at different conditions. Treatment results also exhibited a notable increase of element release into wastewater effluents. Prewashing and drying the coarse wastes before using them with wastewater demonstrated a promising ability for these wastes to remove many elements from wastewater.