Comparative efficiency of two different constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment of small populations in mediterranean continental climate

Acero-Oliete, Alejandro ; López-Julián, Pedro Luis (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Russo, Beniamino ; Ruiz-Lozano, Oscar

Resumen: The treatment of wastewater from small towns supposes problems of economic efficiency, leading to very high environmental costs in areas with low population density. Constructed wetlands (CW) seems to be the more suitable solution for this kind of situation, but further investigations are needed regarding their efficiency under different climatic conditions. This work presents the results concerning urban wastewater treatment by means of two different constructed wetlands using macrophytes: horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) and free water surface (FWS). The systems are located in a Mediterranean continental climate area and are fed by a by-pass at the entrance of a wastewater treatment plant. A four-year sampling campaign at the outlet of the CW allowed verifying their relative effectiveness in removing pollutants in the different seasons of the year. BOD5, COD, and TSS were significantly removed (with average reductions of 55%, 60%, and 57%, respectively) by these natural phytodepuration systems, with HSSF being more efficient during plants’ dormancy than FWS, but the concentrations of nutrients indicated that cumulative effects occur in CW with the need of adequate annual maintenance. It was found that the main factors controlling the efficiency of such systems throughout the year are the period of vegetative development, the presence/absence of a solid substrate, and the pollutant load of the wastewater inlet.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/su14116511

Año: 2022

Publicado en: Sustainability (Switzerland) 14, 11 (2022), 6511
ISSN: 2071-1050

Factor impacto JCR: 3.9 (2022)

Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES rank: 114 / 275 = 0.415 (2022) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES rank: 48 / 128 = 0.375 (2022) - Q2 - T2
Categ. JCR: GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY rank: 34 / 46 = 0.739 (2022) - Q3 - T3
Categ. JCR: GREEN & SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY rank: 5 / 9 = 0.556 (2022) - Q3 - T2

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 5.8 - Engineering (Q1) - Energy (Q2) - Social Sciences (Q1) - Environmental Science (Q1)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.664 - Geography, Planning and Development (Q1) - Energy Engineering and Power Technology (Q2) - Environmental Science (miscellaneous) (Q2) - Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment (Q2) - Hardware and Architecture (Q2) - Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law (Q2) - Computer Networks and Communications (Q2)

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Geodinámica Interna (Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra)