Abstract
This research presents the correlation analysis of selected design and operational factors (depth, area, hydraulic and organic loading rate, and hydraulic retention time), and physicochemical parameters (pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen) of constructed wetlands (CWs) with the removal efficiency of personal care products (PCPs). The results demonstrated that the removal efficiencies of the studied PCPs exhibit a significant correlation with two or more of these factors. The role of plants in the removal of PCPs is demonstrated by the higher performance of planted compared with unplanted CWs due to direct uptake of PCPs and their aerobic biodegradation. The enhanced removal of PCPs was achieved with the use of substrate material of high adsorption capacity and with high surface area in CWs. The removal efficiency of almost all of the studied PCPs revealed seasonal differences, but significant difference was established in the case of galaxolide and methyl dihydrojasmonate. Most of the examined PCPs demonstrated adsorption and/or sorption as their most dominant removal mechanism followed by biodegradation and plant uptake. Therefore, the efficient removal of PCPs demands the integrated design ensuring suitable environment for the occurrence of these processes along with the optimal values of design and operational factors, and physicochemical parameters.
Highlights
Constructed wetlands (CWs) were comprehensively investigated for the treatment of personal care products (PCPs) from wastewater
In most of the examined PCPs, adsorption to the substrate and/or sorption to organic surfaces is the most dominant removal mechanism followed by biodegradation, and plant uptake, which explains the variation in their removal efficiency in different types of constructed wetlands (CWs) (FWSCW, horizontal flow CW (HFCW), vertical flow CW (VFCW), and hybrid CW (HCW))
This paper examines the influence of design and operational factors, and physicochemical parameters of CWs on the removal of PCPs
Summary
Constructed wetlands (CWs) were comprehensively investigated for the treatment of personal care products (PCPs) from wastewater. Most of the studies considered one or more topics for evaluation, such as role of design and/or operational factors, role of physicochemical parameters, effect of plants and/or support matrix, and impact of seasonality (summer and winter) on the removal of PCPs in CWs. Several individual studies emphasized the role of plants in the removal of PCPs by investigating the performance of planted and unplanted CWs (Table 1). Some recent studies investigated the effect of support matrix on the removal of PCPs by using the substrate material of high adsorption capacity and with high surface area (Table 1). Several studies considered the effect of seasonality (summer and winter) on the removal of PCPs to emphasize
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