Abstract
The objective of this study was to implement a pilot system of treatment wetlands, using phytoremediation as an alternative technology to remove arsenic from the concentrate of a reverse osmosis system. The pilot system was composed of two subsurface flow constructed wetlands, planted with Eleocharis macrostachya and Shoenoplectus americanus. The wetlands were fed concentrate from a reverse osmosis system for seven months, with an average flow of 962 Ld-1 and an average arsenic concentration of 0.241 mgL-1. Removal rates between 43 % and 86 % were obtained for wetland 1 and between 35 % and 79 % for wetland 2 throughout the experiment. The two plant species developed normally despite the high levels of electrical conductivity in the range of 3584 to 5455 µscm-1 in wetland intake waters. The pilot wetland system removed significant levels of arsenic from the reverse osmosis concentrate, resulting in arsenic levels in the output waters that meet Mexican standard for using water in agricultural irrigation.
Highlights
Ground water has become an important source of drinking water as surface waters are drying up
It is estimated that 39 % of the fresh water used in Mexico comes from ground waters in 635 aquifers, of which 105 are being overused and 32 have problems of salinity, while 44 % of the population depends on groundwater as a source of drinking water [1]
The average concentrate flow of the concentrate (1451 Ld-1), was higher than the average flow of feedwater to the wetlands system (962 Ld-1), which was due to the water pipe being plugged by incrustations of salt from the water
Summary
Ground water has become an important source of drinking water as surface waters are drying up. It is estimated that 39 % of the fresh water used in Mexico comes from ground waters in 635 aquifers, of which 105 are being overused and 32 have problems of salinity, while 44 % of the population depends on groundwater as a source of drinking water [1]. Groundwater is highly ionic as a result of natural geological formations that result in aquifers, including arsenic (As) [2]. Some of the technologies available for removing As are oxidation, coagulation-flocculation, absorptions, ionic exchange, membrane-based, and phytoremediation. Reverse osmosis has been identified as ideal for small-scale water treatment systems to remove As [5] because it can be controlled and automated
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