Evaluating Water Quality and Treatment Efficiency in Healthcare Facilities A Case Study of Huai Phueng Hospital

Abstract

This research aimed to study the water quality in the wastewater treatment unit of the wastewater treatment system of Huai Phueng Hospital, Kalasin Province, to compare the quality of wastewater from the wastewater treatment system with the standard and study the efficiency of the wastewater treatment system in treatment of various pollutants in wastewater. The wastewater treatment system of Huai Phueng Hospital is Completely Mixed Activated Sludge (CMAS), consisting of 4 treatment units: pumping pond unit, aeration unit, sedimentation unit, and chlorine addition unit. Water samples were collected in June 2023. The results of the study can be used to improve and develop the wastewater treatment system for greater efficiency.

       The results of the study found that the wastewater had pH was 7.68±0.43, total dissolved solids was 478.43±72.02 mg/L, turbidity was 129.27±77.03 NTU, dissolved oxygen was 1.17±0.83 mg/L, heavy sediment was <0.1 mg/L and conductivity was 1,095.86±162.78 µS/cm. The effluent had pH was 7.85 ± 0.16, total dissolved solids was 434.00 ± 45.61 mg/L, turbidity was 81.94 ± 38.88 NTU, dissolved oxygen was 5.30 ± 0.35 mg/L, heavy sediment was <0.1 mg/L and conductivity were 987.29 ± 94.60 µS/cm. When comparing the quality of the effluent with the standard, it was found that the pH, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, heavy sediment and conductivity were within the standard range. While turbidity was higher than the standard range. And the wastewater treatment system had an efficiency in treating total dissolved solids was 9.28%, turbidity was 36.61%, dissolved oxygen was 77.92% and conductivity was 9.90%. The wastewater treatment system was able to reduce turbidity by 36.61%, which is a significant reduction compared to other parameters. However, the turbidity level after treatment still exceeds the standard due to the initially high turbidity of the wastewater. Additionally, the recirculation of sludge back into the aeration unit for further treatment may reduce the system's efficiency in turbidity reduction.