Abstract
Improving water quality is a relevant environmental aspect, and using constructed wetlands (CWs) is a sustainable option for this; both porous material filled cells and plants that collectively remove contaminants must be readily available and inexpensive. This study evaluated CWs and their functionality by comparing two ornamental plants (Spathiphyllum wallisii and Hedychium coronarium) planted in experimental mesocosm units filled with layers of porous river rock, tepezil, and soil, or in mesocosms with layers of porous river rock, and tepezil, without the presence of soil. The findings during the experiments (180 days), showed that the removal of pollutants (chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids suspended (TSS), nitrogen as ammonium (N-NH4), as nitrate (N-NO3), and phosphate (P-PO4) was 20–50% higher in mesocosms with vegetation that in the absence of this, and those mesocosms with the soil layer between 33–45% favored removal of P-PO4. Differences regarding of vegetation removal were only observed for N-NH4, being 25–45% higher in CWs with H. coronarium, compared with S. wallisii. Both species are suitable for using in CWs, for its functionality as phytoremediation, and aesthetic advantages could generate interest for wastewater treatment in rural communities, parks, schools or in domiciliary levels like floral flower boxes in the backyard. The study also revealed that a soil layer in CWs is necessary to increase the removal of P-PO4, an ion hardly eliminated in water treatment.
Highlights
Population growth is an aspect that has contributed to the excessive use of water, and in addition to the lack of wastewater treatment systems, the degree of water quality is currently getting poorer.According to CONAGUA [1], of municipal collected wastewater in Mexico, only the 63% of this is treated, which shows the clear need for wastewater treatment plants; the implementation of this is not a common case due the high costs required for the construction and operation thereof.For example, in Xaltianguis, Guerrero, Mexico, a conventional treatment plant for sewage and activated sludge was installed for a water volume of 1080 m3 /day, of which the construction cost was$596,500.00 plus $38,880.00 monthly for operating expenses (Mexican Pesos) [2]
constructed wetlands (CWs) are cells with a substrate, and where vegetation is planted to suit saturation conditions of wastewater in the roots. These are surface flow CWs when there is only one layer of soil at the bottom of the cell and the wastewater is in contact with the atmosphere, a situation that allows the presence of emergent plants, floating plants on the water column, and/or submerged plants
In order to know the best design of CWs, and intensify the removal of pollutants by using ornamental plants with flower production, and different substrates, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of removing pollutants from the community wastewater by using different layers of substrates + tepezil (TZ) vs. PRR + TZ + soil), and different ornamental vegetation (Spathiphyllum wallisii and Hedychium coronarium) in subsurface-flow CW mesocosms
Summary
Population growth is an aspect that has contributed to the excessive use of water, and in addition to the lack of wastewater treatment systems, the degree of water quality is currently getting poorer.According to CONAGUA [1], of municipal collected wastewater in Mexico, only the 63% of this is treated, which shows the clear need for wastewater treatment plants; the implementation of this is not a common case due the high costs required for the construction and operation thereof.For example, in Xaltianguis, Guerrero, Mexico, a conventional treatment plant for sewage and activated sludge was installed for a water volume of 1080 m3 /day, of which the construction cost was$596,500.00 plus $38,880.00 monthly for operating expenses (Mexican Pesos) [2]. The use of ecologically viable or sustainable alternatives to solve these problems is needed; for this purpose constructed wetlands (CWs), or so-called artificial wetlands are examples of such an alternative [3,4,5]. These systems simulate the functionality of improving water detoxification of contaminants by physical, chemical, and biological processes that natural wetlands have, and which are called planet kidneys [3,6]. CWs are cells with a substrate, and where vegetation is planted to suit saturation conditions of wastewater in the roots. Subsurface-flow CWs are cells filled with a granular medium of certain porosity that allows the development of microbial films by the presence of the substrate, so they can only have emergent plants [7]
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