Parsa SM. Reliability of thermal desalination (solar stills) for water/wastewater treatment in light of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus "SARS-CoV-2") pandemic: What should consider?
DESALINATION 2021;
512:115106. [PMID:
33967299 PMCID:
PMC8096177 DOI:
10.1016/j.desal.2021.115106]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic disturbed the world from the beginning of 2020. The high excessive number of patients and the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 in human excreta and urine even after the infected person's respiratory tests were negative, results in a heavy load of viral in various water bodies and mostly untreated wastewaters. In the present study, the reliability of using small-scale solar thermal desalination systems (solar stills) during a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic is discussed. Pollution of water bodies through the SARS-CoV-2 via numerous routes increases the risk of contaminating the feed water and subsequently the whole structure of solar stills. Since the transmission of pathogens (particle size: 0.5-3 μm) via droplets of water in solar still is reported before, transmitting of SARS-CoV-2 via droplets of water which multiple times smaller (particle size: 60-140 nm) than those pathogens is a concern. The most important issue which must be highlighted is that solar stills worked at low-temperature while the viability and survival of the SARS-CoV-2 in various water matrices in the temperature range (4-37 °C) for several days is reported. In this regard, using solar stills during the COVID-19 pandemic need further consideration by all researchers and people around the world.
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