NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
(CHEMICAL ENGINEERING)




CN4240E
TERM PAPER
TREATMENT FOR HARVESTED RAIN WATER
GROUP MEMBERS:
Mohamed Ziaudeen Shahul Hameed A0066188U



CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 2 of 10
Contents
Table of figures: ......................................................................................................................... 2
1) 1) History ............................................................................................................................... 3
2) Necessity of rain water harvesting : ....................................................................................... 4
3) Rain water harvesting techniques .......................................................................................... 5
4) Treatment Techniques ........................................................................................................... 5
5) Water Quality ........................................................................................................................ 9
6) Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 9
References ................................................................................................................................ 10

Table of figures:
Figure 1:Hydrological cycle ..................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2:Various methods of harvested rain water purification process .................................. 6
CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 3 of 10
1) History
For 4000 years, cultures throughout the world have used captured rainwater. It has even
been said that water may be the oil of the 21st century. Even today, collecting rainwater
and using water more than once can reduce the dependence of existing water supply.
Much of the treated water ( For ex: PUB water in Singapore ), that has been purified to
drinking water standards is used for task such as house cleaning, flushing toilets,
gardening , washing clothes etc., and for these tasks drinking water quality is not
required. It is the time that we have to think about the future generation seriously and
must start providing solutions for tomorrows world. The motto of this report is protect
today for tomorrow.
Definition of Rain Water Harvesting:
Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It is called rain
(quote by: Michael Mc clary). There are many types of water and here are few which we
encounter in our day to day life.
1) Atmospheric water Rain and fog.
2) Blue water Water from aquifers, rivers and lakes.
3) Green water Soil moisture.
4) Storm water Rainwater that has hit the ground.
5) Gray water Waste water from a laundry, shower and /or bath sink.
6) Alternate water water that has been used earlier by any equipment, for example: cooling
tower bleed off water, air conditioning condensate and water used in labs for cooling
purpose.
7) Black water Water from toilet and kitchen sinks.
8) Reclaimed water- Water that has went through sewer treatment process and has been
filtered and processed for reuse in various ways.

In this report the primary focus will be the treatment of harvested rain water. New
deigns has to be adapted for collection and efficient usage of water.
Rainwater harvesting is the principle of collecting and using precipitation from a
catchments surface. It is a method for accumulating, storing and conserving rainwater
for reuse from roof tops, land surfaces or rock catchments using simple techniques such
CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 4 of 10
as jars and pots as well as more complex technique such as underground check dams
for future use (1) .
The collection of rain water is considered as an old technology which has created attraction in
the current trends, in a new way especially in areas of where the periods of rainfall are
prolonged or literally there is very little rainfall. This method will be very useful in the areas
for water distributing systems has completely broken down or areas where rainwater may be
considered as the only available water source (2).
This method of harvested rainwater has been used for domestic uses in providing drinking
water, water for livestock, water for irrigation purposes, as well as other typical uses given to
water.

Figure 1:Hydrological cycle

2) Necessity of rain water harvesting :
Rain water harvesting is essential because :-
1) There is a big demand for surface water and we have to largely depend on ground
water.
2) Due to rapid population growth and urbanization, the dissipation and infiltration of
rain water into the ground and sub-soil has rapidly decreased and recharging of ground
water has diminished.
CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 5 of 10
At present situation on serious consideration, conserving water by harvesting and
managing this natural resource by artificially recharging the system.
3) Rain water harvesting techniques
There are two main techniques of rain water harvestings.
Storage of rainwater on surface for future
use:
Techniques which have been adapted
traditionally for storing rain water on the
surface.
The preferable storage structures are such
as:
underground,
storage tanks,
ponds,
check water dams,
weirs
Artificial recharge to ground water:
A process which the ground water reservoir is
accumulated under natural conditions or
replenishment. This includes any man-made
scheme or facility.
Methods of artificial recharge:
Water spreading
Recharge through pits, trenches, wells,
shafts
collection of rainwater from rooftop
collection of rainwater from roadtop.
Induced recharge from surface water
bodies.
4) Treatment Techniques
There are various stages of rain water treatment. The whole process starts even before the
rainwater harvesting begins and is usually designed to make the rainwater safe and suitable
for human consumption and use, especially in households.
It is recommended by experts and advisable that you undertake some major cleaning work on
the roof at the beginning of each rainy season. This is to remove any type of foreign matter.
CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 6 of 10
First flush/ roof
washing
Catchment
Area
storage
Discharge to
sewer
Water overflow
Sedimentation and
filtration
Eg: 5 micron filter
Alternate
water supply
Solar distiller
Carbon filtration
0.5 micron
Ultraviolet or
ozone disinfection
Distrubution Distrubution Distrubution
Absolute filter 1.0
micron
Carbon filtration
10.0 micron
UV disinfection

Figure 2:Various methods of harvested rain water purification process

This action has the positive effect of eliminating a lot of sediments, particles as well as debris
that would have otherwise strained your rainfall harvesting filtering system.
Usually water from the previous rains is used for this important cleaning operation in
rainwater harvesting. The flow chart below describes the various routes of treatment process
and the flow path depends on the end usage.
The roof or catchment area is not the only area that requires regular cleaning. Cleaning of the
water tank should also take place at the end of every rainy season.
CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 7 of 10
Basically In this process of rainwater treatment can be classified into two parts based on the
end usage.
1) Water Treatment for Non-potable Indoor Use Systems.
2) Water Treatment for Non-potable outdoor Use Systems.

When the rainwater harvesting begins the first treatment
or cleaning process involves the removal of debris via a
gutter strainer which is typically a filter system have to be
installed carefully in the rainwater harvesting system (3).
Good system of filtration must be able to remove leaf and dirt
particles and all other debris that will usually fall on the roof
with the rain.
Also when the rain comes into contact with the collection
surface, it will tend to wash many types of contaminants off the surface and into the storage
tank. These are the sort of contaminants that will get through all the filters in the rain water
harvesting system that will usually deal with debris, leaves and other larger particles. These
contaminants can include mold, bacteria, algae, protozoa, dust, pollen, bird feces and feathers
and dead insects.
For the rainwater to be fit for human
consumption, it is important that the water
goes through the following processes.
Screening, settling, filtering and disinfection.
(4)
Any rainwater from rainwater harvesting that
goes through this process will be fully ready
for drinking and human use without any
worries over its' suitability. The rainwater
tends to be of a higher quality than water
from a majority of other sources. This means
that rainwater from rainwater harvesting that
goes through the right water treatment will
CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 8 of 10
give you a final product of extremely high quality and good taste.
Collected rain water treatment technologies:
An initial water test must be conducted to evaluate harvested rain water content. The
impurities present depend on the catchment surface, gutter and downspout materials. The
additional treatment process may be required.
1) Absorption: Carbon filters provide absorption. Typically a filter is installed at the
immediate downstream which is able to remove sediment particles less than 100 micron is
installed before it enters the storage tank. Whereas the colour caused by leaf tannins are
not removed in this section
2) Ultraviolet ray: UV ray disinfects water by reducing the amount of heterotrophic bacteria
present in the water. UV disinfection is mostly preferred as it doesnt involve the usage of
chemicals.
3) Reverse osmosis process: A semi permeable membrane is used to pass the more
concentrated solution to a more dilute solution through a semi permeable membrane (5).
4) Distiller: The water is heated to reach until its boiling point and the water vapor is
collected as it condenses, leaving many of the heavy metal contaminants behind. This is
one of the most traditional ways of water purification.
5) Ozone treatment: Naturally occurring allotrope of oxygen has the highest oxidation
potential . Inorganic and organic materials can be oxidized by ozone more rapidly.
Chemically, ozone is O
3
. It is essentially more reactive form of molecular oxygen made
up of three atoms of oxygen. Ozone acts as a powerful oxidizing agent to reduce colour,
eliminate foul odours, and reduce TOC in water. (6).

CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 9 of 10
5) Water Quality
Raw harvested rainwater subjected to such treatment has good quality comparatively to
WHO standard for drinking water. The table below compares the quality characteristics of
raw harvested rainwater, treated harvested rainwater and WHO guidelines.
Parameters /Units Raw Harvested
Rainwater (5)
Treated Harvested
Rainwater (5)
WHO Guidelines
Values (2007) (7)
pH 6.4 6.6 6.5-8.0
Temperature (
o
C) 27.7 27.2 25-30
Turbidity (MTU) 19.6 2.5 5
TDS (mg/L) 906 331 500
TSS (mg/L) 28 7.7 25
BOD (mg/L) 37 4.9 10
COD (mg/L) 41 19 40
Nitrate (mg/L) 21.17 9.3 10

6) Conclusion
All of the proposed water catchment, collection and reuse system can help offset the quantity
of ground water or surface water withdrawn by replacing the major usage of municipal (or)
potable water as a source for non potable water demands. For example In large chemical
plants, the rain water sewer is normally routed to different catch basin and it will not be
mixed with the organic sewage discharged from the chemical plant. The separate treatment of
storm water will help in reducing the cost of water treatment. This collected rain water can be
used in fire water storage tank where a little treatment is needed for this purpose. A water
tanker bringing water from unknown sources and untested for its quality will cost about $ 25
to $ 60 for 10,000 liters of water You cannot put a price on 'peace of mind' knowing that you
have water for a month.


CN4240E Term Paper Treatment of Harvested Rain Water

Page 10 of 10
References
1. Water Harvesting Manual. [Online] City of Tucson, Department of Transportation,
Stormwater Management Section. [Cited: September 20, 2012.]
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34474863/Water-Harvesting-Guidance-Manual-City-of-Tucson.
2. Rainwater Harvesting. [Online] Rainwater Storage Solution. [Cited: September 20, 2012.]
http://rainwaterstoragesolutions.com/index.html.
3. Individual Tank based Rainwater Harvesting System for Coastal Tamil Nadu. s.l. :
Department of architecture and development.
4. Possibilities of rainwater utilisation in densely populated areas including precipitation
runoffs from traffic surfaces. Nolde, Erwin. s.l. : Desalination, 2007.
5. Treatment of Harvested Rainwater in a Pilot Scale Fixed Bed Filled with Bone Char. A.
Rim-Rukeh, G.O. I khifa, P. Okokoyo and J.K. Awatefe. s.l. : Journal of applied science
and research, 2007.
6. Kloss, Christopher. Municipal Handbook Rainwater Harvesting Policies.
7. Water Treatment. [Online] PUB. [Cited: September 20, 2012.]
http://www.pub.gov.sg/general/pages/watertreatment.aspx.