First stage of the French vertical flow constructed wetland system: experiments with the reduction of surface area and number of units

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Manjate ◽  
L. C. O. Lana ◽  
D. C. Moraes ◽  
G. R. Vasconcellos ◽  
G. R. M. Maciel ◽  
...  

Small vertical-flow constructed wetland units comprising the first stage of the French system were studied in Brazil for the treatment of raw sewage. Planted and unplanted units and different feeding strategies were tested. In the first phase, hourly batches of a daily flow of 13 m3 d−1 were applied over three alternating units, resulting in an average hydraulic loading rate (HLR) on the full system of 0.15 m3 m−2 d−1. A second phase, aimed at reducing land requirements, kept the same daily flow and batch frequency, but used two alternating units, resulting in a HLR on the full system of 0.22 m3 m−2 d−1. Removal efficiencies were very good when the system operated with three units, with mean values of 82% for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), 81% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), 85% for total suspended solids (TSS) and 59% for NH4+-N. With two units, the equivalent values were 74% for BOD, 59% for COD, 67% for TSS and 51% for NH4+-N. There were significant differences in the median removal efficiencies of COD and TSS. No significant differences were found between planted and unplanted units for most constituents. In both phases, the overall good performance and the simplicity of the system make this treatment process a very attractive alternative for developing countries.

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 1088-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kim ◽  
M. Gautier ◽  
G. Olvera Palma ◽  
P. Molle ◽  
P. Michel ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to characterize the efficiency of an intensified process of vertical flow constructed wetland having the following particularities: (i) biological pretreatment by trickling filter, (ii) FeCl3 injection for dissolved phosphorus removal and (iii) succession of different levels of redox conditions along the process line. A pilot-scale set-up designed to simulate a real-scale plant was constructed and operated using real wastewater. The influences of FeCl3 injection and water saturation level within the vertical flow constructed wetland stage on treatment performances were studied. Three different water saturation levels were compared by monitoring: suspended solids (SS), total phosphorus (TP), dissolved chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium, nitrate, phosphate, iron, and manganese. The results confirmed the good overall efficiency of the process and the contribution of the trickling filter pretreatment to COD removal and nitrification. The effects of water saturation level and FeCl3 injection on phosphorus removal were evaluated by analysis of the correlations between the variables. Under unsaturated conditions, good nitrification and no denitrification were observed. Under partly saturated conditions, both nitrification and denitrification were obtained, along with a good retention of SSs. Finally, under saturated conditions, the performance was decreased for almost all parameters.


2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1461-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Prigent ◽  
J. Paing ◽  
Y. Andres ◽  
F. Chazarenc

Upgrades to enhance nitrogen removal were tested in a 2 year old pilot vertical flow constructed wetland in spring and summer periods. The effects of a saturated layer and of recirculation were tested in particular. Two pilots (L = 2 m, W = 1.25 m, H = 1.2 m), filled with expanded schist (Mayennite®), were designed with hydraulic saturated layers of 20 and 40 cm at the bottom. Each pilot was fed with raw domestic wastewater under field conditions according to a hydraulic load of 15–38 cm d−1 (i.e. 158–401 g COD (chemical oxygen demand) m−2 d−1) and to recirculation rates ranging from 0% up to 150%. The initial load during the first 2 years of operation resulted in an incomplete mineralized accumulated sludge leading to total suspended solids (TSS), COD and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) release. A 40 cm hydraulic saturated layer enabled an increase of 5–10% total nitrogen (TN) removal compared to a 20 cm saturated layer. Recirculation allowed the dilution of raw wastewater and enhanced nitrification in a single stage. A design of 1.8 m² pe−1 (48 cm d−1, 191 g COD m−2 d−1) with a 40 cm saturated layer and 100% recirculation enabled the French standard D4 (35 mg TSS L−1, 125 mg COD L−1, 25 mg BOD5 L−1), nitrogen concentrations below 20 mg TKN (total Kjeldahl nitrogen) L−1 and 50 mg TN L−1, to be met.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-285

A two-year monitoring program was undertaken in a vertical flow constructed wetland treating wastewater from Gomati, a village in Chalkidiki, North Greece. This constructed wetland operates since 2003. The monitoring campaigns were organized every 15 days. Water quality samples were collected at the inlet, at intermediate points (i.e., at the end of each treatment stage) and at the outlet of the system. Measured mean removal efficiencies were as follows: 92.3% for BOD, 91.7% for COD, 80.3% for TKN, 87.5% for ΝΗ4 +, 61.3% for TP, 45.7% for ortho-phosphates, 93.2% for TSS and 99.9% for total coliforms, which suggests a satisfactory and reliable performance of such systems in Greece. The paper presents facility description, study details and monitoring results.


2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.C. Davies ◽  
A. Vacas ◽  
J.M. Novais ◽  
F.G. Freire ◽  
S. Martins-Dias

A pulse feed vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW) proved to be efficient in the treatment of a textile effluent being able to buffer, dilute and treat an Acid Orange (AO7) accidental discharge. The influence of the flooding level (FL) and pulse feed (PF) duration on the removal efficiencies of a VFCW was examined. Average AO7 removal efficiencies of 70% were achieved for an AO7 Inlet concentration of 700 mg l−1 applied during 15 min cycle−1 (every three hours) at a hydraulic load of 13 l m−2 cycle−1 and an FL of 21%. The VFCW was modelled by analogy with a combination of ideal reactors. The simplest combination that best reproduced the experimental results was an association of 2 reactors in series plus 1 reactor accounting the dead volumes. The model parameters helped to understand the hydrological and kinetic processes occurring in VFCW. Through the model simulation it was shown that 3 VFCW in series were enough to efficiently treat an organic mass load of 76 gAO7 m−2 day−1 in 9 hours and fulfil the discharge legislation. In this work it was possible to establish that the overall degradation kinetics was of first order.


2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guenter Langergraber ◽  
Alexander Pressl ◽  
Raimund Haberl

This paper describes the results of the first full-scale implementation of a two-stage vertical flow constructed wetland (CW) system developed to increase nitrogen removal. The full-scale system was constructed for the Bärenkogelhaus, which is located in Styria at the top of a mountain, 1,168 m above sea level. The Bärenkogelhaus has a restaurant with 70 seats, 16 rooms for overnight guests and is a popular site for day visits, especially during weekends and public holidays. The CW treatment system was designed for a hydraulic load of 2,500 L.d−1 with a specific surface area requirement of 2.7 m2 per person equivalent (PE). It was built in fall 2009 and started operation in April 2010 when the restaurant was re-opened. Samples were taken between July 2010 and June 2013 and were analysed in the laboratory of the Institute of Sanitary Engineering at BOKU University using standard methods. During 2010 the restaurant at Bärenkogelhaus was open 5 days a week whereas from 2011 the Bärenkogelhaus was open only on demand for events. This resulted in decreased organic loads of the system in the later period. In general, the measured effluent concentrations were low and the removal efficiencies high. During the whole period the ammonia nitrogen effluent concentration was below 1 mg/L even at effluent water temperatures below 3 °C. Investigations during high-load periods, i.e. events like weddings and festivals at weekends, with more than 100 visitors, showed a very robust treatment performance of the two-stage CW system. Effluent concentrations of chemical oxygen demand and NH4-N were not affected by these events with high hydraulic loads.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2200
Author(s):  
Georgios D. Gikas ◽  
Vassiliki A. Papaevangelou ◽  
Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis ◽  
Maria Antonopoulou ◽  
Ioannis K. Konstantinou

We assessed constructed wetland (CW) performance in the removal of six emerging pollutants (EPs) from university campus wastewater. The EPs considered were: diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-isobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP), bis(2-ehtylxexyl) phthalate (DEHP), tris(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) and caffeine (CAF). Six pilot-scale CWs, i.e., three horizontal subsurface flow (HSF) and three vertical flow (VF), with different design configurations were used: two types of plants and one unplanted for both the HSF and the VF, two hydraulic retention times (HRT) for the HSF, and two wastewater feeding strategies for the VF units. The results showed that the median removals in the three HSF-CWs ranged between 84.3 and 99.9%, 79.0 and 95.7%, 91.4 and 99.7%, 72.2 and 81.0%, 99.1 and 99.6%, and 99.3 and 99.6% for DEP, DIBP, DNOP, DEHP, TCPP, and CAF, respectively. In the three VF-CWs, the median removal efficiencies range was 98.6–99.4%, 63.6–98.0%, 96.6–97.8%, 73.6–94.5%, 99.3–99.5% and 94.4–96.3% for DEP, DIBP, DNOP, DEHP, TCPP and CAF, respectively. The study indicates that biodegradation and adsorption onto substrate were the most prevalent removal routes of the target EPs in CWs.


2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1345-1351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suwasa Kantawanichkul ◽  
Somsiri Sattayapanich ◽  
Frank van Dien

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of wastewater treatment by vertical flow constructed wetland systems under different hydraulic loading rates (HLR). The comparison of two types of plants, Cyperus alternifolius (Umbrella sedge) and Vetiveria zizanioides (Vetiver grass), was also conducted. In this study, six circular concrete tanks (diameter 0.8 m) were filled with fine sand and gravel to the depth of 1.23 m. Three tanks were planted with Umbrella sedge and the other three tanks were planted with Vetiver grass. Settled domestic wastewater from Chiang Mai University (chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH4+-N and suspended solids (SS) of 127.1, 27.4 and 29.5 mg/L on average, respectively) was intermittently applied for 45 min and rested for 3 h 15 min. The HLR of each tank was controlled at 20, 29 and 40 cm/d. It was found that the removal efficiency of the Umbrella sedge systems was higher than the Vetiver grass systems for every parameter, and the lowest HLR provided the maximum treatment efficiency. The removal efficiency of COD and nitrogen in terms of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) was 76 and 65% at 20 cm/d HLR for Umbrella sedge compared to only 67 and 56% for Vetiver grass. Nitrogen accumulation in plant biomass was also higher in Umbrella sedge than in Vetiver grass in every HLR. Umbrella sedge was thus proved to be a suitable constructed wetland plant in tropical climates.


2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 1516-1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Molle ◽  
R. Lombard Latune ◽  
C. Riegel ◽  
G. Lacombe ◽  
D. Esser ◽  
...  

The French Outermost Regions are under tropical climate yet still have to comply with both French and EU regulations. French vertical-flow constructed wetland systems appear well adapted to the technical specifics of these regions but their adaptation to tropical climate requires new design guidelines to be defined (area needed, number of filters, type of plants, material to be used, etc.). A study was started in 2008, with backing from the national water authorities, to implement full-scale experimental sites and assess the impacts of local context on design and performances. This paper reports the monitoring results on three vertical-flow constructed wetlands fed directly with raw wastewater (known as the ‘French system’) in Mayotte and French Guiana. The plants, now in operation for between 1 and 6 years, range from 160 to 480 population equivalent (p.e.). Monitoring consisted of 28 daily composite flow samples in different seasons (dry season, rainy season) at the inlet and outlet of each filter. Performances are benchmarked against French mainland area standards from Irstea's database. Results show that performances are improved by warmer temperature for chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and satisfy national quality objectives with a single stage of filters. Treatment plant footprint can thus be reduced as only two parallel filters are needed. Indeed, warm temperatures allow faster mineralization of the sludge deposit, making it possible to operate at similar rest and feeding period durations. Systems operated using one twin-filter stage can achieve over 90% COD, SS and TKN removal for a total surface of 0.8 m²/p.e.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document