Detection and Removal of Priority Substances and Emerging Pollutants from Stormwater: Case Study of the Kołobrzeska Collector, Gdańsk, Poland

Paweł Jakubowicz, Karolina Fitobór, Magdalena Gajewska and Małgorzata Drewnowska
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Paweł Jakubowicz: Department of Environmental Engineering Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Karolina Fitobór: Department of Environmental Engineering Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Magdalena Gajewska: Department of Environmental Engineering Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Małgorzata Drewnowska: Gdansk Water Ltd., 80-601 Gdansk, Poland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Progressive urban development affects environmental balance and disrupts the hydrologic cycle, in which rainfall plays a significant role. Since rainwater is considered a valuable resource of the environment, many technical solutions are implemented that enable effective rainwater management. On the other hand, stormwater runoff from urban areas contains numerous (also toxic) substances, and therefore should be properly treated. In this study, a multistage constructed wetland (MCW) pilot installation was used to remove selected groups of priority substances and emerging pollutants from rainwater discharged from the urbanized catchment of the Kołobrzeska stormwater collector in Gdańsk, Poland. The obtained results show that rainwater runoff was characterized by a variable concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Hg), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene) and microplastics. Depending on the hydraulic load of the bed, the reduction efficiency for heavy metals ranged from 26.19 to 100%, and for microplastics from 77.16 to 100%, whereas for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons it was consistently high, and equaled 100%.

Keywords: rainwater management; quality of runoff; multistage constructed wetland system (MCWs); Mass Removal Rate; priority substances removal; microplastics (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 complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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