🌿 Constructed Wetlands for Pharmaceutical Removal 🌿By: Dr. Hossein Ataei Far🌍Introduction: Constructed wetlands (CWs) are gaining atten...
Published on by Hossein Ataei Far, Deputy Manager of the Research, Technology Development, and Industry Relations Center at NWWEC
By: Dr. Hossein Ataei Far
🌍Introduction: Constructed wetlands (CWs) are gaining attention for eco-friendly wastewater treatment, focusing on pharmaceutical removal.
🌍Objective: Determine optimal CW design for enhancing micropollutant removal from WWTP effluent.
🌍Methodology: A literature review of 47 papers on 136 CWs analyzing the removal of 137 pharmaceuticals.
🌍Key Findings:
⬆️ Vertical subsurface flow CWs outperform horizontal systems.
⏳ Higher loading/shorter retention time and older CW age decrease pharmaceutical removal.
🌞 Temperature influences removal, with better performance in summer.
🧪 Pharmaceutical properties correlate partially with removal efficiency.
🌍Implications:
🌿 CWs show potential for land-efficient tertiary treatment, but long-term performance needs further investigation.
Recommendations for Future Research:
🔄 Identify factors optimizing long-term pharmaceutical removal.
🌱 Elucidate removal mechanisms (adsorption-desorption-biodegradation).
📊 Standardize monitoring and reporting. Assess energy/carbon footprints of different wetland types.
🔎 Role of Plants:
Plants are crucial in PhC removal through biotic pathways. Different plant species influence removal, with observed uptake and transformation of PhCs.
Planted CWs generally exhibit higher removal efficiencies. Significant differences in removal efficiency were observed for specific PhCs.
The presence of plants is not always crucial for removal.
🔎 Research Needs for Optimizing CW Design:
▶️ Plant Selection:
Identify the most effective plant species for specific PhC removal.
Comparative studies for optimized plant selection.
▶️ Design Parameters:
Investigate the influence of design parameters on PhC removal.
Optimize CW design for enhanced contact time.
▶️ Long-Term Performance:
Conduct long-term monitoring studies for sustainability.
Evaluate aging and potential issues impacting treatment performance.
🌿💧 Conclusion: Pharmaceutical residues in CWs are complex, and influenced by variability, biodegradability, and plant uptake. Summer exhibits higher removal efficiency, signaling the need to address aging effects and consider indicators for sludge extraction. 🌿💧
🔗 References:
[1] Wagner. Thomas V et al., (2023).
[2] Nuel. Maximilien et al., (2017).
[3] Al-Wahaibi. Buthaina Mahfoud et al. (2021).
[4] Sgroi. Massimiliano et al., (2017).
[5] Petrie. Bruce et al. (2018).
[6] Wang. Jiaxi et al., (2023).
[7] Ruppelt. Jan P et al., (2019).
[8] Verlicchi. Paola, et al. (2013).
[9] lyas, H., & et al. (2019).
[10] Rahman, M. E., et al. (2020).
[11] Tripathi, D. et al. (2021).
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#wastewatertreatment
#MicropollutantRemoval
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Figure(1)- Removal efficiency classes reported for each pharmaceutical compound detected during the eight sampling sessions [2]