Abstract

Water quality standards pertaining to effluent from sewage treatment plants (STPs) in China have become more stringent, requiring upgrading of STPs and entailing huge capital expenditure. Wetland treatment systems (WTSs) are a low-cost and highly efficient approach for deep purification of tailwater from STPs. The Hongze WTS (HZ-WTS), a large-scale surface-flow constructed wetland, with a total area of 55.58ha and a treatment capacity of 4×104m3day–1, was built for the disposal of tailwater from STPs. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of HZ-WTP with regard to seasonal variations and to compare treatment costs with those of other STPs. The performance of the HZ-WTS was evaluated in 2013 using online monitoring. HZ-WTS exhibited significant removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), chemical oxygen demand and total phosphorus (mean±s.d., percentage removal efficiency 56.33±70.44, 55.64±18.58 and 88.44±22.71% respectively), whereas there was significant seasonal variation in the efficiency of NH4+-N removal. In addition, the average treatment cost was ¥0.17m–3, significantly lower than the corresponding value for other STPs. Therefore, WTSs are recommended for use with STPs in order to improve waste water quality in a cost-effective manner.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.