Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater Treatment
Integrated planning of urban blue–green infrastructures is crucial to strengthen urban environmental quality and mitigate negative climate change-associated effects. It implies, however, increased water demand for irrigation, wherefore greywater (wastewater excluding wastewater from toilets and urin...
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doaj-b8a8042f85c1479b986e60e888c79eb52021-09-26T01:38:46ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-09-01132510251010.3390/w13182510Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater TreatmentCarlo Morandi0Gerhard Schreiner1Patrizia Moosmann2Heidrun Steinmetz3Department for Resource-Efficient Wastewater Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße 14, 67663 Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment for Resource-Efficient Wastewater Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße 14, 67663 Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment for Resource-Efficient Wastewater Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße 14, 67663 Kaiserslautern, GermanyDepartment for Resource-Efficient Wastewater Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße 14, 67663 Kaiserslautern, GermanyIntegrated planning of urban blue–green infrastructures is crucial to strengthen urban environmental quality and mitigate negative climate change-associated effects. It implies, however, increased water demand for irrigation, wherefore greywater (wastewater excluding wastewater from toilets and urinals) can be used, yet it requires handling for safe reuse. One treatment option is the use of constructed wetlands (CW), which have thus far not been broadly applied in inner-city districts due to large area requirements. This work investigates a novel bipartite container-based vertical-flow constructed wetland (VFCW) for the treatment of light greywater (from showers and hand wash basins) and its use as irrigation water for urban facade greenery. The VFCW consists of two compartments with 2.5 m<sup>2</sup> filter area each, filled with 75 cm zeolite-containing lava sand (0–4 mm) and 75 cm Rhine sand (0–2 mm), respectively. In short, screening has proven to be well suitable for coarse solids removal, so there is no further need to settle light greywater, which reduces overall treatment area and benefits urban application. Treated greywater complied with irrigation standards at all times, yet mixing with rainwater can help reduce salt contents, if applicable. The modular/elevated lava sand VFCW exhibited extensive nitrification, even at extremely low water temperatures, as well as mean effluent concentrations of 6.3 mg/L COD and <0.05 mg/L P<sub>tot</sub>, which makes it a very promising treatment option for greywater. All in all, the modular/elevated design promotes urban application of VFCW as a multifunctional blue–green system that can help increase urban resilience.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/18/2510blue–green infrastructurescontainer-basedlava sandlow temperaturenature-based solutionsnitrification |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Carlo Morandi Gerhard Schreiner Patrizia Moosmann Heidrun Steinmetz |
spellingShingle |
Carlo Morandi Gerhard Schreiner Patrizia Moosmann Heidrun Steinmetz Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater Treatment Water blue–green infrastructures container-based lava sand low temperature nature-based solutions nitrification |
author_facet |
Carlo Morandi Gerhard Schreiner Patrizia Moosmann Heidrun Steinmetz |
author_sort |
Carlo Morandi |
title |
Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater Treatment |
title_short |
Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater Treatment |
title_full |
Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater Treatment |
title_fullStr |
Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater Treatment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Elevated Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands for Light Greywater Treatment |
title_sort |
elevated vertical-flow constructed wetlands for light greywater treatment |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Water |
issn |
2073-4441 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
Integrated planning of urban blue–green infrastructures is crucial to strengthen urban environmental quality and mitigate negative climate change-associated effects. It implies, however, increased water demand for irrigation, wherefore greywater (wastewater excluding wastewater from toilets and urinals) can be used, yet it requires handling for safe reuse. One treatment option is the use of constructed wetlands (CW), which have thus far not been broadly applied in inner-city districts due to large area requirements. This work investigates a novel bipartite container-based vertical-flow constructed wetland (VFCW) for the treatment of light greywater (from showers and hand wash basins) and its use as irrigation water for urban facade greenery. The VFCW consists of two compartments with 2.5 m<sup>2</sup> filter area each, filled with 75 cm zeolite-containing lava sand (0–4 mm) and 75 cm Rhine sand (0–2 mm), respectively. In short, screening has proven to be well suitable for coarse solids removal, so there is no further need to settle light greywater, which reduces overall treatment area and benefits urban application. Treated greywater complied with irrigation standards at all times, yet mixing with rainwater can help reduce salt contents, if applicable. The modular/elevated lava sand VFCW exhibited extensive nitrification, even at extremely low water temperatures, as well as mean effluent concentrations of 6.3 mg/L COD and <0.05 mg/L P<sub>tot</sub>, which makes it a very promising treatment option for greywater. All in all, the modular/elevated design promotes urban application of VFCW as a multifunctional blue–green system that can help increase urban resilience. |
topic |
blue–green infrastructures container-based lava sand low temperature nature-based solutions nitrification |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/18/2510 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT carlomorandi elevatedverticalflowconstructedwetlandsforlightgreywatertreatment AT gerhardschreiner elevatedverticalflowconstructedwetlandsforlightgreywatertreatment AT patriziamoosmann elevatedverticalflowconstructedwetlandsforlightgreywatertreatment AT heidrunsteinmetz elevatedverticalflowconstructedwetlandsforlightgreywatertreatment |
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1716868569418956800 |