Sewage Treatment in Campus
for Recycling Purpose: A Review
Abu Zahrim Yaser and Nurliyana Nasuha Safie
Abstract Sewage generated in campus is a type of wastewater that requires attention
since the volume is raising yearly with the increment of students intakes. Campus
sewage has BOD and COD not higher than ~600 mg/L and ~700 mg/L, respectively.
The presence of heavy metals such as barium (Ba), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), Strontium
(Sr), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) have been identified in campus sewage. Other
than that, the occurrence of organic contaminants such as phenols is also detected
in campus sewage which has the tendency to be transformed into micropollutants.
Various techniques have been tested and used to treat campus sewage which can
be grouped into physical, chemical, biological, and combination treatment systems.
Based on the review, the highest removal efficiency in treating campus sewage is
bioaugmentation using the mixed species of microalgae. This method is also costeffective and requires less maintenance albeit the fact that it is affected by the light
intensity and sensitive towards toxic contaminants present in the sewage. Treated
water from campus sewage is feasible to be reused in landscape maintenance, noncrop irrigation, toilet flushing system, and aquaculture which can compensate for the
cost of sewage treatment. The recycled water has to meet guidelines prior to reuse to
protect public health. Besides that, regulations, policies, and standard procedure in
implementing a proper sewage management should be implemented in universities
for a better and sustainable campus environment.
Keywords Sewage · Campus · Treatment · Reuse · Recycle · Water
1 Introduction
Recently, the focus has been on recycling the sewage using cost-effective and less
energy consumption alternatives. Campus sewage is one of the sewage sources that
requires attention. The demand for recycling the campus sewage is associated with
the increment of campus societies that is in parallel with the increment of sewage
A. Z. Yaser (B) · N. N. Safie
Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
e-mail: zahrim@ums.edu.my
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Z. Yaser (ed.), Green Engineering for Campus Sustainability,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7260-5_15
207
for Recycling Purpose: A Review
Abu Zahrim Yaser and Nurliyana Nasuha Safie
Abstract Sewage generated in campus is a type of wastewater that requires attention
since the volume is raising yearly with the increment of students intakes. Campus
sewage has BOD and COD not higher than ~600 mg/L and ~700 mg/L, respectively.
The presence of heavy metals such as barium (Ba), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), Strontium
(Sr), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) have been identified in campus sewage. Other
than that, the occurrence of organic contaminants such as phenols is also detected
in campus sewage which has the tendency to be transformed into micropollutants.
Various techniques have been tested and used to treat campus sewage which can
be grouped into physical, chemical, biological, and combination treatment systems.
Based on the review, the highest removal efficiency in treating campus sewage is
bioaugmentation using the mixed species of microalgae. This method is also costeffective and requires less maintenance albeit the fact that it is affected by the light
intensity and sensitive towards toxic contaminants present in the sewage. Treated
water from campus sewage is feasible to be reused in landscape maintenance, noncrop irrigation, toilet flushing system, and aquaculture which can compensate for the
cost of sewage treatment. The recycled water has to meet guidelines prior to reuse to
protect public health. Besides that, regulations, policies, and standard procedure in
implementing a proper sewage management should be implemented in universities
for a better and sustainable campus environment.
Keywords Sewage · Campus · Treatment · Reuse · Recycle · Water
1 Introduction
Recently, the focus has been on recycling the sewage using cost-effective and less
energy consumption alternatives. Campus sewage is one of the sewage sources that
requires attention. The demand for recycling the campus sewage is associated with
the increment of campus societies that is in parallel with the increment of sewage
A. Z. Yaser (B) · N. N. Safie
Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
e-mail: zahrim@ums.edu.my
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
A. Z. Yaser (ed.), Green Engineering for Campus Sustainability,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7260-5_15
207