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Performance Evaluation of Subsurface Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands to treat and reuse Institutional Wastewater in arid regions (KSA)

Mohab Amin Kamal

Abstract


Constructed wetlands (CWs) are engineered systems that mimic natural wetlands to treat wastewater. They offer several advantages over conventional wastewater treatment plants, such as low cost, low energy consumption, easy operation and maintenance, and environmental benefits. However, CWs face some challenges in arid regions, such as water scarcity, high evaporation rates, salinity stress, and land availability. In this paper, the design, performance, and evaluation of a subsurface vertical flow constructed wetland (SVFCW) system to treat and reuse institutional wastewater in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The SVFCW system consists of three treatment stages, each stage (30 cm diameter and 30 cm depth) is filled with the same media layers, bottom layer consists of gravels of 8 cm depth, middle layer is filled with aggregates 8 cm depth, and the top layer is mixture of aggregates and sand of particle size with 8 cm depth and a wetland bed planted with umbrella plants (Cyperus Involucratus, Cyperaceae). The influent and effluent quality of the SVFCW system were monitored for 28 days and assessed its removal efficiency for various parameters, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), Ortho-Phosphate (Ortho-P), and total phosphorus (TP). The average removal efficiencies BOD, COD, TSS, NH3-N, Ortho-P and TP after the three stages were 76%, 70%, 93%, 83%, 61% and 64%, respectively. Stage 1 achieved a higher removal efficiencies for all pollutants than stage 2, and the efficiency did not change significantly from stage 2 to stage 3. The effluent concentrations are within the MEWA irrigation standards, allowing the treated wastewater to be used for restricted irrigation

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References


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