Constructed wetland as a low cost and sustainable solution for wastewater treatment adapted to rural settlements: the Chorfech wastewater treatment pilot plant

2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 3006-3012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ghrabi ◽  
Latifa Bousselmi ◽  
Fabio Masi ◽  
Martin Regelsberger

The paper presents the detailed design and some preliminary results obtained from a study regarding a wastewater treatment pilot plant (WWTPP), serving as a multistage constructed wetland (CW) located at the rural settlement of ‘Chorfech 24’ (Tunisia). The WWTPP implemented at Chorfech 24 is mainly designed as a demonstration of sustainable water management solutions (low-cost wastewater treatment), in order to prove the efficiency of these solutions working under real Tunisian conditions and ultimately allow the further spreading of the demonstrated techniques. The pilot activity also aims to help gain experience with the implemented techniques and to improve them when necessary to be recommended for wide application in rural settlements in Tunisia and similar situations worldwide. The selected WWTPP at Chorfech 24 (rural settlement of 50 houses counting 350 inhabitants) consists of one Imhoff tank for pre-treatment, and three stages in series: as first stage a horizontal subsurface flow CW system, as second stage a subsurface vertical flow CW system, and a third horizontal flow CW. The sludge of the Imhoff tank is treated in a sludge composting bed. The performances of the different components as well as the whole treatment system were presented based on 3 months monitoring. The results shown in this paper are related to carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus removal as well as to reduction of micro-organisms. The mean overall removal rates of the Chorfech WWTPP during the monitored period have been, respectively, equal to 97% for total suspended solids and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), 95% for chemical oxygen demand, 71% for total nitrogen and 82% for P-PO4. The removal of E. coli by the whole system is 2.5 log units.

2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.Ç. Ayaz ◽  
I. Akca

The constructed wetland is a low-cost technology to control environmental pollution. The system is especially suitable for small settlements. An innovative constructed wetland technology is described in this paper. A pilot plant was used to assess the performance of the system. The experimental system consists of two serial connected tanks that settled up with fillers and Cyperus as treatment media. Wastewater is recycled periodically upward and downward between the two tanks. The treatment performance was monitored in different loading conditions in a one-year period. The average COD removal efficiency of 90% was observed at 122 g COD/m2.day average loading conditions. Other average removal values in the same conditions are as follows: suspended solid 95%, TKN 77%, total nitrogen 61%, PO4-P 39%. The land requirement for this system will be 0.82 m2 per capita when applying as full-scale system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Konstantinos P. Papadopoulos ◽  
Christina N. Economou ◽  
Athanasia G. Tekerlekopoulou ◽  
Dimitris V. Vayenas

Algal/cyanobacterial biofilm photobioreactors provide an alternative technology to conventional photosynthetic systems for wastewater treatment based on high biomass production and easy biomass harvesting at low cost. This study introduces a novel cyanobacteria-based biofilm photobioreactor and assesses its performance in post-treatment of brewery wastewater and biomass production. Two different supporting materials (glass/polyurethane) were tested to investigate the effect of surface hydrophobicity on biomass attachment and overall reactor performance. The reactor exhibited high removal efficiency (over 65%) of the wastewater’s pollutants (chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, orthophosphate, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen), while biomass per reactor surface reached 13.1 and 12.8 g·m−2 corresponding to 406 and 392 mg·L−1 for glass and polyurethane, respectively, after 15 days of cultivation. The hydrophilic glass surface favored initial biomass adhesion, although eventually both materials yielded complete biomass attachment, highlighting that cell-to-cell interactions are the dominant adhesion mechanism in mature biofilms. It was also found that the biofilm accumulated up to 61% of its dry weight in carbohydrates at the end of cultivation, thus making the produced biomass a suitable feedstock for bioethanol production.


2020 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 08007
Author(s):  
Wahyu Zuli Pratiwi ◽  
Hadiyanto Hadiyanto ◽  
Purwanto Purwanto ◽  
Muthi’ah Nur Fadlilah

Microalgae-Microbial Fuel Cells (MMFCs) are very popular to be used to treat organic waste. MMFCs can function as an energy-producing wastewater pre-treatment system. Wastewater can provide an adequate supply of nutrients, support the large capacity of biofuel production, and can be integrated with existing wastewater treatment infrastructure. The reduced content of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is one way to measure the efficiency of wastewater treatment. MMFCs reactors are made in the form of two chambers (anode and cathode) both of which are connected by a salt bridge. Tofu wastewater as an anode and Spirulina sp as a cathode. To improve MFCs performance which is to obtain maximum COD removal and electricity generation, nutrient NaHCO3 as the nutrient carbon source for Spirulina sp was varied. The system running phase on 12 days. The results were Spirulina sp treated with MFCs technology has better growth than non-MFCs. The MMFC generated a maximum power density of 21.728 mW/cm2 and achieved 57.37% COD removal. These results showed that the combined process was effective in treating tofu wastewater.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Junior Pastor Pérez-Molina ◽  
Carola Scholz ◽  
Roy Pérez-Salazar ◽  
Carolina Alfaro-Chinchilla ◽  
Ana Abarca Méndez ◽  
...  

Introduction: The implementation of wastewater treatment systems such as constructed wetlands has a growing interest in the last decade due to its low cost and high effectiveness in treating industrial and residential wastewater. Objective: To evaluate the spatial variation of physicochemical parameters in a constructed wetland system of sub-superficial flow of Pennisetum alopecuroides (Pennisetum) and a Control (unplanted). The purpose is to provide an analysis of spatial dynamic of physicochemical parameters using R programming language. Methods: Each of the cells (Pennisetum and Control) had 12 piezometers, organized in three columns and four rows with a separation distance of 3,25m and 4,35m, respectively. The turbidity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), ammoniacal nitrogen (N-NH4), organic nitrogen (N-org.) and phosphorous (P-PO4-3) were measured in water under in-flow and out-flow of both conditions Control and Pennisetum (n= 8). Additionally, the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity, pH and water temperature, were measured (n= 167) in the piezometers. Results: No statistically significant differences between cells for TKN, N-NH4, conductivity, turbidity, BOD, and COD were found; but both Control and Pennisetum cells showed a significant reduction in these parameters (P<0,05). Overall, TKN and N-NH4 removal were from 65,8 to 84,1% and 67,5 to 90,8%, respectively; and decrease in turbidity, conductivity, BOD, and COD, were between 95,1-95,4%; 15-22,4%; 65,2-77,9% and 57,4-60,3% respectively. Both cells showed ORP increasing gradient along the water-flow direction, contrary to conductivity (p<0,05). However, OD, pH and temperature were inconsistent in the direction of the water flow in both cells. Conclusions: Pennisetum demonstrated pollutant removal efficiency, but presented results similar to the control cells, therefore, remains unclear if it is a superior option or not. Spatial variation analysis did not reflect any obstruction of flow along the CWs; but some preferential flow paths can be distinguished. An open-source repository of R was provided. 


2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 2408-2418 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Y. Wu ◽  
J. K. Liu ◽  
S. H. Cheng ◽  
D. E. Surampalli ◽  
C. W. Chen ◽  
...  

In Taiwan, more than 20% of the major rivers are mildly to heavily polluted by domestic, industrial, and agricultural wastewaters due to the low percentage of sewers connected to wastewater treatment plants. Thus, constructed or engineered wetlands have been adopted as the major alternatives to clean up polluted rivers. Constructed wetlands are also applied as the tertiary wastewater treatment systems for the wastewater polishment to meet water reuse standards with lower operational costs. The studied Kaoping River Rail Bridge Constructed Wetland (KRRBCW) is the largest constructed wetland in Taiwan. It is a multi-function wetland and is used for polluted creek water purification and secondary wastewater polishment before it is discharged into the Kaoping River. Although constructed wetlands are feasible for contaminated water treatment, wetland sediments are usually the sinks for organics and metals. In this study, water and sediment samples were collected from the major wetland basins in KRRBCW. The investigation results show that more than 97% of total coliforms (TC), 55% of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and 30% of nutrients [e.g. total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP)] were removed via the constructed wetland system. However, results from the sediment analyses show that wetland sediments contained high concentrations of metals (e.g. Cu, Fe, Zn, Cr, and Mn), organic contents (sediment oxygen demand = 1.7 to 7.6 g O2/m2 d), and nutrients (up to 18.7 g/kg of TN and 1.22 g/kg of TN). Thus, sediments should be excavated periodically to prevent the release the pollutants into the wetland system and causing the deterioration of wetland water quality. Results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and nucleotide sequence analysis reveal that a variation in microbial diversity in the wetland systems was observed. Results from the DGGE analysis indicate that all sediment samples contained significant amounts of microbial ribospecies, which might contribute to the carbon degradation and nitrogen removal. Gradual disappearance of E. coli was also observed along the flow courses through natural attenuation mechanisms.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Wen Wang ◽  
Hua Li ◽  
You Wu ◽  
Yun Cai ◽  
Hai-Liang Song ◽  
...  

Rural runoff with abundant nutrients has become a great threat to aquatic environment. Hence, more and more attention has been focused on nutrients removal. In this study, an improved aerobic/anaerobic/aerobic three-stage water spinach constructed wetland (O-A-O-CW) was used to improve the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus of rural runoff. The removal rate of the target pollutants in O-A-O-CW was compared with the common matrix flow wetland as well as the no-plant wetland. The results showed that the O-A-O-CW significantly increased the chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, ammonium-nitrogen, nitrate, and total nitrogen removal rate, and the corresponding removal rate was 55.85%, 81.70%, 76.64%, 89.78%, and 67.68%, respectively. Moreover, the best hydraulic condition of the wetland, including hydraulic retention time and hydraulic loading, was determined, which were 2 days and 0.45 m3·m−2·day−1, respectively. Furthermore, the removal mechanism of the constructed wetland was thoroughly studied, which included the adsorption of nitrogen and phosphorus by the matrix and water spinach, and the nitrification and denitrification by the bacteria. The results demonstrated that the mechanisms of nitrogen removal in the new type wetland were principally by the nitrification and denitrification process. Additionally, adsorption and precipitation by the matrix are mainly responsible for phosphorus removal. These results suggested that the new O-A-O-CW can efficiently removal nutrients and enhance the water quality of the rural runoff.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3019
Author(s):  
Alberto Fernández del Castillo ◽  
Marycarmen Verduzco Garibay ◽  
Carolina Senés-Guerrero ◽  
Carlos Yebra-Montes ◽  
José de Anda ◽  
...  

Systems combining anaerobic bioreactors with constructed wetlands (CW) have proven to be adequate and efficient for wastewater treatment. Detailed knowledge of removal dynamics of contaminants can ensure positive results for engineering and design. Mathematical modeling is a useful approach to studying the dynamics of contaminant removal in wastewater. In this study, water quality monitoring was performed in a system composed of a septic tank (ST), an up flow anaerobic filter (UAF), and a horizontal flow constructed wetland (HFCW). Biological oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), NH3, organic nitrogen (ON), total suspended solids (TSS), NO2−, and NO3− were measured biweekly during a 3-month period. First-order kinetics, multiple linear regression, and mass balance models were applied for data adjustment. First-order models were useful to predict the outlet concentration of pollutants (R2 > 0.87). Relevant multiple linear regression models were found, which could be applied to facilitate the system’s monitoring and provide valuable information to control and improve biological and physical processes necessary for wastewater treatment. Finally, the values of important parameters (μmax, Ks,  and Yx/s) in mass-balance models were determined with the aid of a differential neural network (DNN) and an optimization algorithm. The estimated parameters indicated the high robustness of the treatment system since performance stability was found despite variations in wastewater composition.


2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1410-1418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijie Guo ◽  
Zhu Li ◽  
Shuiping Cheng ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Feng He ◽  
...  

To examine the performance of a constructed wetland system on stormwater runoff and domestic sewage (SRS) treatment in central east China, two parallel pilot-scale integrated constructed wetland (ICW) systems were operated for one year. Each ICW consisted of a down-flow bed, an up-flow bed and a horizontal subsurface flow bed. The average removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (CODCr), total suspended solids (TSS), ammonia (NH4+-N), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were 63.6, 91.9, 38.7, 43.0 and 70.0%, respectively, and the corresponding amounts of pollutant retention were approximately 368.3, 284.9, 23.2, 44.6 and 5.9 g m−2 yr−1, respectively. High hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of 200 mm/d and low water temperatures (&lt;15 °C) resulted in significant decrease in removals for TP and NH4+-N, but had no significant effects on removals of COD and TSS. These results indicated that the operation of this ICW at higher HLR (200 mm/d) might be effective and feasible for TSS and COD removal, but for acceptable removal efficiencies of nitrogen and phosphorus it should be operated at lower HLR (100 mm/d). This kind of ICW could be employed as an effective technique for SRS treatment.


2011 ◽  
Vol 356-360 ◽  
pp. 1909-1913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Ai Zheng ◽  
Jian She Liu ◽  
Li Li Pan

Owing to toxicity of pharmacy wastewater to microbe, commonly used biodegradation is often limited in application; accordingly exploiting new ways of the wastewater treatment with high efficiency is a hot topic. As a new efficient advanced oxidation, pulsed corona discharge combining with ozone is attracting more and more attention. In this study, a special reactor was designed, in addition, the removal of TOC(Total Organic Carbon) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand)of simulant pharmacy wastewater containing hydroquinone (500mg/L) by pulsed corona discharge combining with ozone were investigated . It was showed that the TOC and COD removal (53.8% and 72.3%) by the combined technology was much higher than by using the two techniques in series when all the samples were treated 40mins.The two methods in combination have a synergistic effect. TOC and COD removal could be improved obviously when NaCl feed concentration increased from 0 to1000 mg/L, yet further increase in NaCl feed led to a markedly decrease removal efficiency of TOC and COD.


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