Carwash water reclamation in Kuwait

Kuwait depends almost totally on the desalination industry for the production of fresh water good for all applications and activities. As water consumption and cost of production are very high, any attempt to lower them is considered “win–win” strategy for both reducing pollution and enhancing water supply resources. Carwash stations located in Kuwait are among those activities that consume great capacity of water produced from desalination. An average of 50–100 gallons of fresh water is consumed to perform a complete professional wash on a single car. It is estimated that 2.5 million gallons of freshwater is consumed daily in carwash stations. This large capacity of water contains high hazardous pollutants such as petroleum products in the wastewater, which may eventually end up in the sea; causing severe damage to the marine life environment. The main aim of this paper is to explore the possibility of treating and upgrading car-washing water to an acceptable level that can be recycled and reused for the same application. Hence, the outcome would render several benefits to Kuwait, including water conservation and abating water pollution. Results of tests indicate that 75% of the water can be recycled and reused for further local usages such as performing new carwashes. An average consumption of about 25% of freshwater is needed as feed to perform final rinses and make-ups. The quality of the treated recycled water is very acceptable as many of the pollutants have decreased.