Financial performance of wastewater treatment technologies frequently used in Jordan and Tunisia

Abstract

This paper analyzes the financial performance of 26 wastewater treatment plants in Jordan and Tunisia. The most frequently used systems for wastewater treatment in these countries are activated sludge systems with its modifications, trickling filters, and lagoons. Performance of the treatment technologies varies considerably from one treatment plant to another, even among those plants that fall within one category and employ basically similar processes in the same country. Nevertheless, the activated sludge systems and trickling filters seem overall superior to lagoons in terms of effluent quality, land requirement, and popularity, but at the expense of more equipment, replacement parts, and energy requirement. Comparison of the treatment costs (capital and operational) for the three systems shows that activated sludge systems are the most expensive followed by trickling filters. Although lagoons are the cheapest, the mechanical modifications to the natural lagoon systems make the O&M requirements almost similar to that for the activated sludge and trickling filter systems. Therefore, lagoon systems seem to be less commendable unless land is available at reasonable price and the current perceptions about lagoons are changed.