Domestic wastewater treatment performance using constructed wetland

Constructed wetlands are treatment systems that use natural processes involving wetland vegetation, soils, and their associated microbial assemblages to improve water quality. These systems can be used commercially for efficient biological treatment of wastewater, and it will also act as a better eco-friendly method when compared with other conventional treatment methods. A constructed wetland pilot scale unit was constructed in the SRM University campus which was allowed to treat wastewater from the sewage treatment plant III. The pilot scale unit was designed based on EPA and CPCB guidelines. The dimension of the constructed wetland was 250 × 150 × 80 cm with a slope of 0.01 (1 %). The design is as per Darcy’s law. The wetland unit has a cross section of 3.75 m2 and has been designed with hydraulic loading of 0.8 m3/(m2/day) and recommended flow of 3 m3/day. The retention time provided for the unit was 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h. Phragmites australis also known as common reed was the wetland plant species planted in the unit. Six field trials were carried out during the project and with average removal efficiencies of 75.99 % for BOD, 76.16 % for COD, 57.34 % for TDS, 62.08 % for Nitrate, 58.03 % for Phosphate, 57.83 % for Potassium. © 2015, Springer International Publishing.