Design of a Direct Potable Wastewater Reuse Facility

Project goal: To design a 25,000-gallon direct potable wastewater-reuse system for Biosphere 2. Directly treating wastewater to produce potable drinking water is known as “toilet to tap” and is the basis of this project, which aims to make Biosphere 2 as close as possible to 100 percent self-sustaining in terms of drinking water. The equipment was designed to treat the pathogens present in the water and to remove any harmful chemicals, solids or elements. The design incorporates an aerobic plug flow reactor, sludge-removal techniques, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet and chlorine disinfection to achieve the potable water quality guidelines specified by the Environmental Protection Agency. The process was also designed to be economically feasible for Biosphere 2.