Remediation of Polluted River Water by Biological, Chemical, Ecological and Engineering Processes

Hossain Md Anawar and Rezaul Chowdhury
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Hossain Md Anawar: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, Australia
Rezaul Chowdhury: School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba 4350, Australia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: Selection of appropriate river water treatment methods is important for the restoration of river ecosystems. An in-depth review of different river water treatment technologies has been carried out in this study. Among the physical-engineering processes, aeration is an effective, sustainable and popular technique which increases microbial activity and degrades organic pollutants. Other engineering techniques (water diversion, mechanical algae removal, hydraulic structures and dredging) are effective as well, but they are cost intensive and detrimental to river ecosystems. Riverbank filtration is a natural, slow and self-sustainable process which does not pose any adverse effects. Chemical treatments are criticised for their short-term solution, high cost and potential for secondary pollution. Ecological engineering-based techniques are preferable due to their high economic, environmental and ecological benefits, their ease of maintenance and the fact that they are free from secondary pollution. Constructed wetlands, microbial dosing, ecological floating beds and biofilms technologies are the most widely applicable ecological techniques, although some variabilities are observed in their performances. Constructed wetlands perform well under low hydraulic and pollutant loads. Sequential constructed wetland floating bed systems can overcome this limitation. Ecological floating beds are highly recommended for their low cost, high effectiveness and optimum plant growth facilities.

Keywords: polluted river water; water treatment; ecological restoration; constructed wetland; ecological floating bed; biofilm technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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