Thermal Pretreatment of Waste Hygiene Water

The thermal pretreatment of waste hygiene water was investigated as an approach to reduce the amount of energy required to maintain overall system microbial control. The study was conducted in two phases. The laboratory phase was a series of experiments to quantify the degree of microbial population reduction obtained when hygiene waste water and humidity condensate are heated through various thermal cycles. The laboratory phase also included inoculation of the combined wastewater with a thermophilic bacteria to provide a “worst-case” challenge of the thermal cycle being tested.

The large scale system phase determined biofilm formation on the surfaces of a variety of materials with and without thermal cycling.

Except for survival of the challenge thermophile and some naturally present thermophiles, thermal treatment above 85° C was successful in eradication of the microbial population in the combined hygiene wastewater and formed biofilms. It was also noted that some naturally occurring thermophiles multiplied at temperatures below 45° C.