Car Wash Water Reuse A Brazilian Experience

Authors: Rafael N. Zaneti, MSc; Ramiro G. Etchepare, MSc; and Jorge Rubio, PhD, DIC
(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul)

Brazil-Car Wash
Project Background or Rationale
A full-scale car wash (hand washing) facility in Porto
Alegre, South Brazil demonstrates the ability to utilize
wastewater reuse (reclamation) for commercial car
washing. This project validates an innovative
processFlocculation-Column
Flotation
(FCF),
filtration, and chlorinationproposed by Rubio and
Zaneti (2009), and Zaneti et al. (2011). Full evaluation
was performed over a period of 20 weeks. The main
parameters monitored were water consumption,
quality of the reclaimed treated wastewater, water
risks to health (customers and operators), vehicles,
and washing machine damages.

Capacity and Type of Reuse

Application
The installed car wash wastewater reclamation system
(Figure 1) had capacity for reclaiming 264 gallons/hr
(1 m3/hr) to meet the requirements for a demand of
around 60 car washes per day.

Neutral and alkali detergents, as well as waxes are

employed in the wash procedure. Reclaimed water
was utilized in the pre-soak, wash and first rinse (wash
process). Makeup (fresh) water was used in the final
rinse before the cars were dried. Water usage was
monitored daily by single-jet water meters. A single
three stage oil/water separator was employed after the
wash rack to remove excess oil content (free oil) and
grit particles.

Water Quality Standards and

Treatment Technology
The water quality for vehicle washing has to be
sufficiently high to avoid damage to vehicles and
washing equipment (Brown, 2002). In addition, the
water quality must minimize risk to operators and
users and be aesthetically acceptable, lacking odor
and having a turbidity of less than 15 NTU (Jefferson
et al., 2004).
The FCF principle is to encourage rapid formation of
flocs, followed by flotation using fine (micro) bubbles to
remove particles. Chlorine is then used to disinfect the
FCF treated wastewater. The floc generator reactor
(FGR) (Carissimi et al., 2007) and the flotation column
(Zaneti et al., 2011) are patented processes and are
low energy, easy to control, and compact. The FCF
system was run semi-automatically. The water level in
the reclaimed water tank was monitored with an
electric level sensor, triggering the treatment process
to turn on automatically when sufficient volume was
reached in the tank. A tannin-based polymer
-1
(concentration of 80350 mg L ) was used in the
coagulation-flocculation step and sodium hypochlorite
(0.5 mg Cl2 L-1) to disinfect the effluent.

Study Methods and Results

Figure 1
Car wash water reclamation system - Total storage
capacity: 2,640 gallons (10 m). Stages include: 1.) Handoperated car wash; 2.) Oil/water separator; 3.) Wastewater
reservoir (sample point 1); 4.) FCF equipment; 5.)
Reclaimed water reservoir (sample point 2); 6.) Fresh water
supply; 7.) Sludge dewatering.

2012 Guidelines for Water Reuse

To ensure acceptable human health risk, risk analysis

was performed employing dose-response models
(Haas et al., 1999) using E. coli as an indicator of
microbiological quality. Aerosol and ingestion
exposure routes were considered for car wash

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Appendix E | International Case Studies

customers (1 exposure per week) and operators (15

exposures per day).
Corrosion and/or scaling are the main concerns in
wastewater reclamation systems for vehicle washing
(Metcalf & Eddy, 2006). Total dissolved solids (TDS)
and chloride were monitored and predicted using a
mass balance model, assuming constant inputs of
contaminants per wash cycle and no water loss.
The chemical, physicochemical and micro-biological
water analysis results are shown in Table 1. Samples
were collected at points 1 and 2 (Figure 1) and
analyzed using standard methods (APHA 2005).
Table 1
FCF-SC process: Characteristics of wastewater and
reclaimed water (20 samplings; mean values
1/2 standard deviation)
Reclaimed Examination
Parameters
Wastewater
Water
Methods*
pH
7.4 0.8
7.3 0.5
TSS, mgL-1
89 54
86
2540 D
TDS, mgL-1
344 25.5
388 42
Turbidity, NTU
103 57
94
2130 B
Total coliforms,
3.1E 5
3.3E 4
9223 B
CFU/10
E. coli, CFU/
2.1E 4
7.4E 2
9221 E
-1
100 mL
* APHA, 2005.

Results showed that reclamation of 70 percent of the

feed water was possible [only 11 gallons (42 L) of
fresh water per car] in order to maintain odorless and
clear water over 27 water cycles. A risk analysis
indicated that car wash users were not at risk, and that
-1
a limit of 200 CFU 100mL of E. coli would be
recommended for an acceptable risk for car wash
operators (risk analysis data not shown). This would
be achieved, by increasing the chlorine concentration
to 15 mg CL2 L-1 (data not shown). Moreover, the
mass balance analysis indicated that the reclaimed
water will have dissolved inorganic constituents below
guideline parameters (TDS < 1000 mgL-1 and chloride
< 400 mg.L-1) (Nace 1975).

Successes and Lessons Learned

Based on comparison to other studies, reducing fresh
water consumption in car washes is more effective
through wastewater reclamation rather than rainwater
harvesting systems (Zaneti et al., 2011). Rainwater
harvesting for water savings in petrol stations with car
washes in Brasilia, Brazil was studied by Ghisi et al.
(2009). The author reported that large roof areas
(550 m) and a large tank (100 m) are required to
capture intermittent rainfall to reach the same 70
percent of water savings attained in the present study
(at a demand of 15 car washes per day). Furthermore,
according to the results of these authors, rainwater
harvesting systems require longer pay-back periods
for installed equipment.
In this study, more than 2000 cars were washed (16
daily washes) during the study period (20 weeks), with
no reported problems regarding the wash service
quality. The results have encouraged the application of
FCF-SC process in many Brazilian bus companies and
in more environmentally friendly car washes. However,
public policies need to be developed that help to
encourage effective implementation of water reuse,
including by addressing water pricing.

References
APHA - Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater, 2005. 21st, American Public Health
Association/American Water Works Association/Water
Environment Federation, Washington, D.C., USA.
Brown C., 2002. Water use in the Professional Car Wash
Industry. Report for International Car Wash Association,
Washington D.C., USA.
Carissimi E, Miller JD, Rubio J. 2007. Characterization of the
high kinetic energy dissipation of the flocs generator reactor
(FGR). International Journal Mineral Processing, 85(1
3):419.
Ghisi E, Tavares D F, Rocha V L. Rainwater harvesting in
petrol stations in Braslia: Potential for potable water savings
and investment feasibility analysis. Resources, Conservation
and Recycling 2009;54:7985.

Project Funding and Management

Practices

Haas C, Rose J, Gerba C. Quantitative microbial risk

assessment. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1999.

The work was supported by several research and

educational institutions in Brazil, mainly the Ministry of
Science and Technology and the Ministry of
Education.

Jefferson B., Palmer A., Jeffrey P., Stuetz R. and Judd S.,
2004. Grey water characterization and its impact on the
selection and operation of technologies for urban reuse.
Water Science and Technology, 50(2), 157-164.

2012 Guidelines for Water Reuse

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Appendix E | International Case Studies

Metcalf and Eddy, 2006. Water Reuse: Issues Technologies,

and Applications. New York, USA.
National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE). The
corrosivity of recirculation car wash water. NACE 1975;
3N275:9-10.
Rubio J. and Zaneti R.N., 2009. Treatment of washrack
wastewater with water recycling by advanced flocculation
column flotation. Desalination, 8, 146-153.
Zaneti R, Etchepare R, Rubio J., 2011. Car wash
wastewater reclamation: Full-scale application and upcoming
features. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 55, 953959.

2012 Guidelines for Water Reuse

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