Suitability of select media for use in a novel green wall system used to treat brewery wastewater

Abstract

ABSTRACT Green walls are becoming increasingly popular as pleasing architectural installations and functional systems in sustainable urban building designs. However, utilization of green walls as an aqueous treatment option has been primarily limited to grey water. This study evaluates select media as appropriate support for plants and microorganisms in a novel green wall system used to treat wastewater from craft and micro-breweries. The media must have hydraulic capacity to treat large volumes of brewery wastewater, be lightweight and commercially available, and provide structure for plant roots and biofilm development. Two expanded recycled glass aggregates (Growstone® and Poraver®) and a lightweight expanded clay aggregate (Hydroton®) were evaluated, having a d 50 range from 6 to 12 mm. To assess media performance, this study determined hydraulic characteristics and evaluated the growth of leafy green plants and microorganism populations irrigated with 100% raw brewery wastewater. It was determined that media with a particle d 50 = 12 mm would facilitate a hydraulic loading rate of 1623 m3/m2/day media under unsaturated conditions and not result in interstitial velocities that shear away biofilm. No significant difference in plant growth metrics, microorganism type or cell density were observed between media. There were nearly three orders of magnitude more bacteria colonies than yeast CFU in biofilm. This innovative application of green walls has the potential to provide manufacturers of fermented beverages with a treatment option that has a low capital cost, simple to operate, and a small footprint, thereby avoiding traditional treatment processes and/or high sewer use fees.