Engineered Wetland for the Treatment of Wastewater from Fertilizer Plant

Abstract

This research analyzed the effective performance of a laboratory scale vertical surface flow constructed wetland (VSFCW) system, for the treatment of wastewater from fertilizer plant. Two reactors with a volume of 80 L each were used for the experiments. One of the reactors contains 2 units of floating plants known as water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) while the other was used as a control. The treatment was carried out in 2 phases: the wetland was first fed with treated domestic wastewater for acclimatization and stability and thereafter, fed continuously with analyzed wastewater samples from the fertilizer plant at the flow rate of 8 L/day, surface loading rate of 0.025 kg/m2/day for COD, 0.013 kg/m2/day for Ammonia, 0.021 kg/m2/day for Nitrate, 0.01 kg/m2/day for Nitrite, and 0.01 kg/m2/day for Phosphorus and a hydraulic detention time of 10 days. The treatment was monitored for 27 days and the performances evaluated. Results of the system indicated that the average removal efficiency was 47 % for COD, 89.01 % for ammonia, 83 % for nitrate, 80 % for nitrite, and 81 % for phosphorus. The quality of the discharged effluent from the VSFCW showed that the system may be a viable technology for the wastewater treatment.