TY - JOUR
T1 - Performance of vertical and horizontal treatment wetlands planted with ornamental plants in Central Chile
T2 - comparative analysis of initial operation stage for effluent reuse in agriculture
AU - Vera-Puerto, Ismael
AU - Marca, Nataly
AU - Contreras, Claudio
AU - Zuñiga, Franklin
AU - López, Jose
AU - Sangüesa, Claudia
AU - Correa, Christian
AU - Arias, Carlos A.
AU - Valenzuela, Mariela
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - This study comparatively evaluated effluent reuse from two TWs—a horizontal subsurface flow (HF) and a vertical subsurface flow (VF)—used for rural wastewater treatment in Central Chile during the initial operation stage. The two TWs were planted with Zantedeschia aethiopica and were operated for 10 months at a pilot scale. The water quality of the influent and effluents was measured and compared with reuse regulations. The results showed similarities in the behavior of the effluents from the two TWs, presenting differences only in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and different forms of nitrogen, suggesting the necessity of complementary treatment stages or modifications to the operation. The effluents from the HF better fulfilled the reuse standards for irrigation, as the VF faced problems associated with its size. However, a complementary disinfection system is necessary to improve pathogen removal in the effluents coming from the two TWs, especially to be reused as irrigation water for crops. Finally, this work showed the potential for applying subsurface TWs for wastewater treatment in rural areas and reusing their effluents as irrigation water, practice that can contribute to reducing the pressure on water resources in Chile, and that can be used as an example for other countries facing similar problems.
AB - This study comparatively evaluated effluent reuse from two TWs—a horizontal subsurface flow (HF) and a vertical subsurface flow (VF)—used for rural wastewater treatment in Central Chile during the initial operation stage. The two TWs were planted with Zantedeschia aethiopica and were operated for 10 months at a pilot scale. The water quality of the influent and effluents was measured and compared with reuse regulations. The results showed similarities in the behavior of the effluents from the two TWs, presenting differences only in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and different forms of nitrogen, suggesting the necessity of complementary treatment stages or modifications to the operation. The effluents from the HF better fulfilled the reuse standards for irrigation, as the VF faced problems associated with its size. However, a complementary disinfection system is necessary to improve pathogen removal in the effluents coming from the two TWs, especially to be reused as irrigation water for crops. Finally, this work showed the potential for applying subsurface TWs for wastewater treatment in rural areas and reusing their effluents as irrigation water, practice that can contribute to reducing the pressure on water resources in Chile, and that can be used as an example for other countries facing similar problems.
KW - Chile
KW - Constructed wetland
KW - Mediterranean climate
KW - Reuse
KW - Wastewater treatment
KW - Zantedeschia aethiopica
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85200266343&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11356-024-34575-1
DO - 10.1007/s11356-024-34575-1
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39093390
AN - SCOPUS:85200266343
SN - 0944-1344
VL - 31
SP - 50398
EP - 50410
JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
IS - 38
ER -