Evaluating wastewater treatment efficiency of two field scale subsurface flow constructed wetlands

Tilak, A S and Wani, S P and Patil, M D and Datta, A (2016) Evaluating wastewater treatment efficiency of two field scale subsurface flow constructed wetlands. Current Science, 110 (09). pp. 1764-1772. ISSN 0011-3891

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Abstract

designed to treat a variety of industrial, domestic and agricultural waste waters. We study here the efficiency of domestic waste water treatment by two field scale subsurface flow CWs under different hydraulic loading rates (HLRs). Each CW had inlet and outlet chamber for waste water collection with Pistia stratiotes (water lettuce), two treatment sections consisting of sand and gravel media and four plant species Typha latifolia (Broadleaf cattail) and Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass – first CW) and (Pennisetum purpureum schum and Pennisetum americanum L (Hybrid napier) and Urochloa mutica (Paragrass – second CW). The wastewater source was from a residential urban colony. The HLRs for the first and second CW for a three-month period averaged 4.45 cm/day and 5.77 cm/day respectively. The CW was monitored for quality of wastewater inflows and outflows and nutrient accumulation in plants and sand media. Results showed that the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen and total phosphate removals in the first and second CW over a three-month period averaged 42%, 74%, 39% and 41% and 34%, 82%, 14% and 35% respectively. Both the CWs showed similar rates of TSS removal irrespective of the type of wetland plant species. Over the three-month period, average COD, total nitrogen and the phosphate removals were greater in the first CW compared to the second CW. These results confirm the efficacy of field scale subsurface flow CWs to improve the quality of domestic waste water in rural communities of developing countries like India.

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Research Program : Asia
CRP: CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)
Uncontrolled Keywords: Constructed wetlands, domestic wastewater, field scale, subsurface flow, wastewater treatment
Subjects: Others > Soil Science
Depositing User: Mr Ramesh K
Date Deposited: 10 May 2016 07:55
Last Modified: 18 Oct 2016 10:51
URI: http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/9500
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.18520/cs/v110/i9/1764-1772
Projects: UNSPECIFIED
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement: We acknowledge the funding provided by USAID (University of Florida, Gainesville) and the Water4crops project. We acknowledge Dr Ramesh Reddy for the valuable thoughts and suggestions in this CW project. We thank and appreciate the efforts of research associates (Ms Sridivya, Ms Deepthi, Mr Hariom, Dr Manoj and Ms Radhika) for conducting the wastewater analysis in the ICRISAT laboratory. We also acknowledge the services of ICRISAT soil and plant laboratory (Mr Chenna Vijayaranganatha and Mrs Chetana Nimje).This article is part of a special edition on Soil and Water Management (Volume 110, Issue - 09, May 10, 2016)
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