Vermifiltration Technology: Earthworm Assisted Green Technology for Wastewater Treatment

Urbanization, industrialization, and an increase in population and socio-economic growth have led to global water crises and the problem is affecting millions of lives, especially those who are dependent on water for agricultural activities and food production, in developing countries. With limited resources and maximum consumption rate, today the world is facing the acute problem of water pollution as well. The conventional technologies for wastewater treatment are not technically & economically feasible due to heavy ‘sludge’ formation as the product, associated with increased capital cost, and operation & maintenance cost. Therefore, there grew huge interest in nature-based sanitation solutions which pave a greener way towards environmental sustainability and provide innovative solutions to the problems of water scarcity as well as water pollution. The present chapter focuses on an alternative, highly efficient, and innovative technology i.e. vermifiltration technology which utilizes the use of earthworms to process water pollutants more efficiently. Besides, a wide diversity of microflora is also present inside the earthworm’s gut which is responsible for the treatment of organics and other contaminants present in the wastewater. This chapter summarizes the importance of vermifiltration technology, being highly efficient in the removal of BOD, COD as well as suspended solids and gives an insight into the design, mechanisms & applications. Also, the recent advancement in vermifiltration technology becomes the focal point for most of researchers and environment-based industries. This technology in combination with constructed wetland, hydroponics, macrophytes, etc. certainly enhances the productivity and treatment efficiency of this filtration unit. Thus, vermifiltration technology is a great combination of microbial-geological systems which is also considered as a green technology in developing countries due to the ease of operation and construction and its low maintenance. The chapter especially focuses on various case studies of vermifiltration integrated systems which have enhanced this nature-based mechanism and promise a greener world for the future.