You are here:
DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A WASTEWATER RECYCLER AND HEATER
Citation:
Guarino, V. AND R. Bambenek. DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A WASTEWATER RECYCLER AND HEATER. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-76/289 (NTIS PB266961), 1976.
Description:
The results of this program have demonstrated the feasibility of an automatic and self-contained appliance that can recover and store usable hot water from waste laundry water, using essentially the same amount of energy as an equivalent-capacity water heater. It has been shown by extended evaluation tests with a waste stream of real laundry water that this unit is capable of recovering sterile hot water at a steady state rate of 22.7 liters/hour (6 gph) with a specific energy draw of 79 watt-hours/liter (299 watt-hours/gal), without the use of any expendable chemicals. It has also been shown by extended evaluation tests with a feed that simulates hospital wastewater preconcentrated by ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis that this unit can increase the solids concentration of a waste water from less than 2% to at least 29.3%. The results of a manufacturing cost analysis have shown that a conservative annual cost (that is, a maximum annual cost) of this appliance is $717 per year. Economic feasibility therefore is not demonstrable at present on a large scale. However, should water cost increase or the cost of the appliance decrease, a viable demand for household water recovery with the appliance would be possible.