Physicochemical characterization of university campus’ wastewater for internal treatment system installation (Casablanca, Morocco)

Abstract

Today, protecting water resources and their sustainable use has become an obligation of people and organizations. Wastewater management and reclamation are the most important solutions to protect these resources. This study aims to determine the wastewater physicochemical quality of the Faculty of Sciences Ben M'Sick (FSBM) (Casablanca, Morocco) to establish the appropriate system for their treatment and internal reclamation. The results show that averages of FSBM's wastewater temperature vary between 17.64 and 19.55 °C, 7.18 and 8.18 for pH, and 2.47 and 3.98 mS.cm-1 for electrical conductivity. The COD, BOD5, and TSS average values oscillate respectively between 967.44–1.151.08 mg.L-1, 70.5–119.05 mg.L-1, and 223.64–1.659.74 mg.L-1, and those of total phosphorus between 2 and 3.99 mg.L-1. The determination of the biodegradability degree of the discharge, through the calculation of COD/BOD5, BOD5/COD, TSS/BOD5, COD/TP, COD/NH4+ ratios, and oxidizable matters (OM,) reveals that the FSBM's wastewater has a heterogeneous character with a high load of oxidizable matter difficult to biodegrade. Despite its low biodegradability, the FSBM’s wastewater could be treated using a biological treatment system, preceded by a physicochemical treatment to eliminate non-biodegradable chemical substances. Such a choice of wastewater treatment system requires prior experimental investigations and laboratory tests.