Floating Wetlands for Sustainable Drainage Wastewater Treatment

Mohamed Elsayed Gabr, Madleen Salem, Hani Mahanna and Mohamed Mossad
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Mohamed Elsayed Gabr: Civil Engineering Department, Higher Institute for Engineering and Technology, Ministry of Higher Education, New Damietta 34517, Egypt
Madleen Salem: Civil Engineering Department, Higher Institute for Engineering and Technology, Ministry of Higher Education, New Damietta 34517, Egypt
Hani Mahanna: Public Works Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Mohamed Mossad: Public Works Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: The preservation of water resources in modern urbanized society is a major concern. In this study, a floating constructed wetland (FWT) pilot plant was designed and constructed for the treatment of a polluted wastewater drain. A series of experiments were run continuously for a year in pilot-scale FWTs in a semi-arid area located in Egypt’s Delta. Four aquatic plant species ( Eichhornia , Ceratophyllum , Pistia stratiotes , and Nymphaea lotus ) were used to assess the performance of FWTs for pollutant removals, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), electrical conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS), from drainage wastewater to reuse the treated effluent in irrigation practices. The FWT systems were fed drainage tainted water on a weekly basis, and the concentrations and removal efficiency were assessed in the experiments. The average reduction in BOD, COD, TSS, TDS, TN, EC, and TP were 76–86%, 61–80%, 87–95%, 36.6–44.1%, 70–97%, 37–44%, and 83–96%, respectively. ANOVA with Post-HOC t -tests show that the Eichhornia , Pistia stratiotes , and Nymphaea lotus have the highest BOD and COD removal performance, whereas Pistia stratiotes and Nymphaea lotus have the highest TN and TP removal performance. In all cases, the Nymphaea lotus performed well in terms of pollutant removal. In addition, a design procedure for a FWT systems is presented. For wastewater treatment, FWT systems have proven to be a low-cost, long-term option.

Keywords: constructed floating wetlands; macrophytes; drainage wastewater treatment; irrigation practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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