Abstract
Aerated treatment wetlands have become an increasingly recognized technology for treating wastewaters from domestic and various industrial origins. To date, treatment wetland aeration is provided by air pumps which require access to the energy grid. The requirement for electricity increases the ecological footprint of an aerated wetland and limits the application of this technology to areas with centralized electrical infrastructure. Wind power offers another possibility as a driver for wetland aeration, but its use for this purpose has not yet been investigated. This paper reports the first experimental trial using a simple wind-driven air pump to replace the conventional electric air blowers of an aerated horizontal subsurface flow wetland. The wind-driven air pump was connected to a two-year old horizontal flow aerated wetland which had been in continuous (24 h) aeration since startup. The wind-driven aeration system functioned, however it was not specifically adapted to wetland aeration. As a result, treatment performance decreased compared to prior continuous aeration. Inconsistent wind speed at the site may have resulted in insufficient pressure within the aeration manifold, resulting in insufficient air supply to the wetland. This paper discusses the lessons learned during the experiment.
Highlights
Aerated treatment wetlands have become an increasingly recognized technology for treating wastewaters from domestic and various industrial origins under different climate conditions [1,2,3,4,5].The main advantage of this technology is its high oxygen supply to the microbial community present, which enables increased rates of aerobic microbial degradation of pollutants
In order to retain the benefits of wetland aeration while eliminating the need for ongoing electricity costs, the current study investigated a wind-powered mechanical air pump that replaces the electrical-driven aeration device of an aerated horizontal subsurface flow wetland
The main objectives of this study were to assess the suitability of a wind-driven air pump for a horizontal aerated wetland treating primarily settled domestic sewage, and to compare treatment performance of a wind-driven aerated wetland to that of a wetland aerated continuously with an electric-powered air pump regarding the removal of organic carbon, nitrogen and pathogens
Summary
Aerated treatment wetlands have become an increasingly recognized technology for treating wastewaters from domestic and various industrial origins under different climate conditions [1,2,3,4,5].The main advantage of this technology is its high oxygen supply to the microbial community present, which enables increased rates of aerobic microbial degradation of pollutants. Aerated treatment wetlands have become an increasingly recognized technology for treating wastewaters from domestic and various industrial origins under different climate conditions [1,2,3,4,5]. As wastewater discharge standards become increasingly stringent, aerated treatment wetlands offer effective removal of key pollutants such as organic carbon, ammonium nitrogen, and pathogens [6,7,8,9] and have a reduced land requirement compared to conventional treatment wetland designs [10]. Aerated treatment wetlands have higher operation costs compared to passive treatment wetland designs. Compared to a conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment technology, aerated wetlands have lower operation costs [11].
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