Pilot hospital wastewater treatment with reeds

Based on the characteristics of water absorption and disinfection of reed roots, Nhan Ai Hospital, Binh Phuoc province, will be the first hospital in the South to apply a waste treatment model with this plant.

(Photo: Corbis.com)

This is a hospital specialized in treating patients with HIV.

The project will start in early June and is expected to be completed within 12 months.

Accordingly, domestic and medical waste water will be pumped into the reed soil to penetrate through the roots, continue to permeate through the filter material layers, then flow down to the drainage pipes located below and emit naturally.

Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Le Truong Giang said that the project was approved by the HCM City People's Committee from the end of last year in order to solve the problem of treating wastewater in hospitals and centers specialized in treating patients. The disease can be transmitted through blood, especially HIV patients.

In the immediate future, in the first phase, the project focuses on waste treatment for a 150-bed medical treatment area of ​​Nhan Ai Hospital. If the test is successful, in phase 2, the project will continue to apply to all more than 800 beds of this hospital and some other hospitals.

Currently Nhan Ai Hospital must treat about 200 patients a day with the amount of waste water equivalent to 100 m3 a day. Waste water is currently treated with a small capacity plant.

According to Mr. Giang, if successful, the pilot project of reedging wastewater will bring about many times more economic efficiency than chemical treatment and operation.

Representative of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology said reeds are plants that can live in harsh weather conditions and are very suitable for the Vietnamese climate. The organism around the roots of this plant can decompose organic matter and absorb heavy metals in medical wastewater. However, because our country has not piloted the practice at the hospital, the project is still considered as a pilot project.

The method of using reed water treatment was discovered by a German professor in the 60s of the last century. Research has shown that plants have the ability to decompose organic matter due to the simultaneous effects of roots, plants and microorganisms that concentrate around the roots. In particular, the tree with the most advantages is reeds.