Exploring the Potential in LID Technologies for Remediating Heavy Metals in Carwash Wastewater

Mahta Talebzadeh, Caterina Valeo, Rishi Gupta and C. Peter Constabel
Additional contact information
Mahta Talebzadeh: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
Caterina Valeo: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
Rishi Gupta: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
C. Peter Constabel: Centre for Forest Biology, Biology University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: Carwash wastewater (CWW) can be a significant source of environmental pollution due to the diversity and high concentrations of contaminants it contains. This toxic wastewater can contain several different heavy metals that if left untreated, can enter surface and sub-surface waters. Innovative, nature-based solutions such as low-impact development (LID) technologies may provide an eco-friendly CWW treatment process that is both effective and affordable. This research reviews the available literature to provide definitive values of flowrate and contaminant concentrations found in CWW around the globe. Dividing LID technologies into two groups, vegetated and unvegetated systems, the authors explored the literature for the general performance of these technologies to sustainably treat heavy metals in CWW. Depending on the car wash’s size and intended purpose, whether cleaning vehicles in agriculture-based rural communities, mining, or in high-density urban environments, volumetric flowrates requiring treatment found in six different countries ranged from 35–400 L/car. CWW also contains a wide range of contaminants at various levels, including COD, turbidity, TDS and TSS, surfactants, oils and greases, and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, chromium, and iron. Heavy metal removal by both vegetated and unvegetated LIDs shows mixed results in the literature, but given the different processes involved in both types, the authors propose a system that combines these types in order to provide all the necessary removal processes, including mechanical filtration, adsorption, sedimentation, chemical and biological treatment processes.

Keywords: carwash wastewater; heavy metals; low-impact development; water quality remediation; sedimentation; chemical adsorption; infiltration; bioretention; phytoremediation; rural and remote water management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8727/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8727/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:8727-:d:608563

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().