Design approach of the Blantyre wastewater treatment plant using the Ed-Wave tool, Malawi

The EDWAVE tool is a PC based package for imparting training on wastewater treatment technologies. The system consists of four modules viz. Reference Library, Process Builder, Case Study Manager, and Treatment Adviser. The principles of casebased design and casebased reasoning as applied in the EDWAVE Tool are utilised in this paper in evaluating the design approach of Blantyre wastewater treatment plant in Malawi. The study established that a similar case to both the dry season and wet season conditions of Blantyre wastewater treatment works has similarities to Municipal Case 6 in Greece (2003), with a flow rate of 6,600m 3 /day. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) removal efficiency in the dry season was 87% and 11%, respectively, and 12% and 11%, respectively, in the wet season at the Blantyre plant. BOD5 and TSS removal efficiencies at Municipal Case 6 in Greece was 95% and 95.5%, respectively. The study confirmed the practical use of the EDWAVE Tool in the design of wastewater treatment systems. The study also confirmed the importance of screening, grit removal, aerobic biological treatment, and sedimentation in wastewater treatment processes

Multimedia e-learning on technologies for efficient water use

One of the Millennium Development Goals is “To ensure environmental sustainability”, with a special task dedicated to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. This task collides with alarming studies that, for instance, foresee an acute water shortage in India and other Asian countries by 2050. In this conflicting context we present ED-WAVE, a developing project funded by the Asia-Link Programme, participating six countries (India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Greece, Spain and Finland). Its goal is to create a sustainable international cooperation framework and to develop a multimedia tool for e-Learning on technologies for conservation, reclamation and reuse of natural resources. We therefore use IT tools aimed at improving people’s education, including analysis of current water use status in Asia and Europe, review of potential technological interventions, simulation of impacts of specific technology interventions and translation of knowledge into electronic teaching material