Abstract
The effects of Canna indica (P1), Pontederia sagittata (P2), and Spathiphyllum wallisii (P3) growing in different filter media materials (12 using porous river rock and 12 using tepezyl) on the seasonal removal of pollutants of wastewater using fill-and-drain constructed wetlands (FD-CWs) were investigated during 12 months. Three units of every media were planted with one plant of P1, P2, and P3, and three were kept unplanted. C. indica was the plant with higher growth than the other species, in both filter media. The species with more flower production were: C. indica > P. sagittate > S. wallisii. Reflecting similarly in the biomass of the plants, C. indica and P. sagittata showed more quantity of aerial and below ground biomass productivity than S. wallisii. With respect to the removal efficiency, both porous media were efficient in terms of pollutant removal performance (p > 0.05). However, removal efficiency showed a dependence on ornamental plants. The higher removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrates (NO3−-N), ammonium (NH4+-N), and phosphates (PO4−3-P) oscillated between 81% to 83%, 80% to 84%, 61% to 69%, 61% to 68%, 65% to 71%, 62% to 68%, and 66% to 69%, respectively, in P1 and P2, removals 15% to 30% higher than P3. The removal in planted microcosms was significantly higher than the unplanted control units (p = 0.023). Nitrogen and phosphorous compounds were highly removed (60%–80%) because in typical CWs, such pollutant removals are usually smaller, indicating the importance of FD-CWs on wastewater treatments using porous river rock and tepezyl as porous filter media. (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), (NO3−-N), (NH4+-N), (TKN), and (PO4−3-P).
Highlights
Constructed wetlands (CWs) are environmentally friendly technologies that have demonstrated high efficiency in removing pollutants from wastewater [1,2,3]
This decrease is consistent with Romero [21], who observed that bacteria receive sustenance from nitrification–denitrification reactions causing alkalinity reduction and such reactions can be intensive in the plants’ presence
The redox potential changed in microcosm fill-and-drain constructed wetlands (FD-CWs) according to planted and unplanted systems, obtaining values of up to 300 mV in the most superficial areas and near the roots of the plants, which was related to the oxygen supply of the rhizosphere zone
Summary
Constructed wetlands (CWs) are environmentally friendly technologies that have demonstrated high efficiency in removing pollutants from wastewater [1,2,3] This sustainable ecotechnology is based on natural wetland processes for the removal of contaminants, including physical, chemical, and biological routes, but in a more controlled environment compared with natural ecosystems [1,4]. There are local ornamental plants (plants grown or maintained for its aesthetic features, like its color, fragrance, flower production, attractive pattern, or design, are called ornamental plants) that have not been tested for their ability to remove pollutants, even though ornamental plants represent an economic alternative for developing countries, where wastewater treatment represents a large expenditure of the municipal budget [9,10,11]. The main goals of this study were: (a) To examine the seasonal effect on growth and pollutant removal of different ornamental plants (Pontederia sagittata, Canna indica, and Spathiphyllum wallisii) with economical vision in the removal of pollutants using FD-CWs., and (b) to evaluate the use of different filter media (porous river rock and tepezyl) in the growth of plants and removal of pollutants in order to find the optimal design characteristics of constructed wetlands
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