Artificial Wetlands

for WASTEWATER

TREAMENT
An economical and a sustainable solution By: Miaaza Hussain Roll No: 10/CE/61

INTRODUCTION
What is a wetland?
Wetlands are defined as land where the water surface is near the ground surface long enough each year to maintain saturated soil conditions, along with related vegetation. eg : swamps and marshes Provide ambient environment for biological and microbial activity for treatment and removal of pollutants

What is an artificial wetland?

artificial wastewater treatment systems consisting of shallow (usually less than 1 m deep) ponds or channels which have been planted with aquatic plants and mimic a natural wetland.

HISTORY
Thousand years ago natural wetlands are used by Chinese and Egyptians to clarify liquid effluent Over the past 50 to 60 years these processes have been analyzed and evaluated First artificial wetland was used in Australia in 1904.

Indias first constructed wetland was installed at Sainik School, Bhubaneswar, Orissa over 5,000 constructed wetlands have been built in Europe and about 1,000 are currently in operation in the United States

How are they built?

Constructed wetlands are generally built on uplands and outside floodplains or floodways in order to avoid damage to natural wetlands and other aquatic resources. Wetlands are frequently constructed by excavating, backfilling, leveling, compaction, diking and installing water control structures to establish desired hydraulic flow patterns.

If the site has highly permeable soils, an impervious, compacted clay liner is usually installed and the original soil placed over the liner. Wetland vegetation is then planted or allowed to establish naturally.

Inlet Vegetation

of an artificial wetland

COMPONENTS

Basin

Substrate (rock, gravel, sand and soil used ) Liner

Outlet

In some cases brick masonry used in construct the basin along with liner

VEGETATION: primary role of vegetation is providing structure for enhancing flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration of suspended solids

Giant duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza )

Bulrush (Scirpus spp.)

Cattail (Typha spp.)

Giant reed (Phragmites australis )

Duckweed (Lemna spp.)

rooted emergent plant species interact with the wastewater at the root zone/ Microbial attached growth

CLASSIFICATION
of artificial wetland based on flow pattern
ARTIFICIAL WERLAND

SURFACE FLOW or FREE WATER SURFACE FLOW (FWS)

SUB-SURFACE FLOW (SSF)

HORIZONTAL FLOW

VERTICAL FLOW (VF)

HYBRID/COMBINED SYSTEM FLOW

FREE WATER SURFACE (FWS)

Surface-flow wetlands move effluent above the soil in a planted marsh or swamp, and thus can be supported by a wider variety of soil types including bay mud and other silty clays.
Emergent vegetation Shallow water (depth of 0.1-0.6 m)

WETLANDS

Fig: A free surface flow wetland

WETLANDS In Subsurface-flow wetlands waste water moves through a porous media/ gravel (generally limestone or volcanic rock lava stone) or sand medium on which plants are rooted. Water level stays below the ground surface

SUB-SURFACE FLOW

Fig: A sub-surface flow wetland

HORIZONTAL FLOW wastewater flows more or less horizontally through the substrate Efficient in BOD5 , COD and TSS removal Less nitrification

VERTICAL FLOW
wastewater is dosed intermittently onto the surface of sand and gravel filters and gradually moves vertically through the filter media downwards and collected in slotted drainage pipes Nitrification process is prominent

 The system is removed by a combination of physical, chemical and biological processes Oxygen supplied by diffusion or by oxygen leakage from roots These processes includes:: i. sedimentation/ filtration ii. Microbial degradation (aerobic and anaerobic iii. Adsorption on root surface iv. oxidation/reduction v. Precipitation UV treatment in open water area provides some disinfection

TREATMENT MECHANISMS in WETLANDS pollution through such a

WW Constituent Suspended Solids Soluble organics

Removal Mechanism Sedimentation Filtration Aerobic and anaerobic microbial degradation

Metals

Adsorption and cation exchange Complexation Precipitation Plant uptake Microbial Oxidation /reduction

Phosphorous Matrix sorption Plant uptake Biotic assimilation Nitrogen Ammonifi cation followed by microbial nitrifi cation Denitrifi cation Plant uptake Matrix adsorption Ammonia volatilization (mostly in SF system)

Pathogens Sedimentation Filtration Natural die off Predation UV irradiation (SF system) Excretion of antibiotics from roots of macrophytes

Pollutant Removal Mechanisms in Constructed Wetlands

DESIGN ASPECTS
Determine design requirements ( design flow rates/ effluent discharge location/ type of wetland and location) Determine water balance limitation ( evaporation/

precipitation) Preliminary and primary treatment: (size and layout/ retention time) Wetland design ( size / configuration/water depth/ aspect

ratio/ hydraulic retention time/ density of vegetation/ media

depth and gradation/ Bed cross section area ( for HF wetland)) Inlet and outlet structure design

PRELIMINARY TREATMENT
SSF constructed wetlands are extremely susceptible to plugging. Not much effect on surface flow though surface flow wetlands affected by algal growth Minimum preliminary/ primary treatment should be provided to remove the settleable solids preliminary treatment of wastewater comprises of mainly screen and grit chamber.

Coarsely dispersed solid/ debris are removes

PRIMARY TREATMENT
When solids are overloaded the porosity of drainage beds are impacted Septic tanks have been evaluated for SSF wetland pretreatment regime. Need for de-suludging In septic tanks solids are allowed to settle and the liquid component is discharged onto the wetlands

Fig: Schematic cross- section of a two-compartment septic tank

Baffles increases contact with biomass in accumulated sludge

Fig: Schematic cross- section of an up flow anaerobic baffle reactor (improved septic tank)

SIZING OF WETLAND
The wetland might be sized based on the equation proposed by Kickuth:

Ah = Qd (ln Ci ln Ce)/ KBOD

Ah = Surface area of bed (m2) Qd = average daily flow rate of sewage (m3/d) Ci = influent BOD5 concentration (mg/l) Ce = effluent BOD5 concentration (mg/l) KBOD = rate constant (m/d) : dependent on temperature KBOD is determined from the expression KTdn, where, KT = K20 1.06(T-20)

K20 = rate constant at 20 oC (d-1) T = operational temperature of system (oC) d = depth of water column (m)

1-2m2 per PE in HF and 0.8-1.5 m2 per PE in VF

Depth of substrate
For horizontal flow wetlands, its is recommended to provide a depth of 40 cm taking into considerations of the precipitation VF systems are built with larger depth ( 50 to 100 cm in usage) It is recommended to use substrate depth of 70 cm, which can provide adequate nitrification in addition to the organic pollutants removal.

BED CROSS SECTIONAL AREA

Bed cross sectional area is calculated by the equation:

Ac = Qs / Kf (dH/ds)
Ac = Cross sectional area of the bed (m2) Qs = average flow (m3/s) Kf = hydraulic conductivity of the fully developed bed (m/s) dH/ds = slope of bottom of the bed (m/m)

For graded gravels a value of Kf of 1 x 10-3 to 3 x 10-3 m/s is normally chosen. In most cases, dH/ds of 1% is used

 The media perform several functions. They: are rooting material for vegetation, help to evenly distribute/collect flow at inlet/outlet, provide surface area for microbial growth, and filter and trap particles. small particles have low hydraulic conductivity and large particles have less SA per unit volume of microbial habitat. Hence medium sized media particles used It is recommended that the media in the inlet and outlet zones should be between 40 and 80 mm in diameter to minimize clogging and should extend from the top to the bottom of the system

INLET/OUTLET
Inlet and outlet structures distribute the flow into the wetland, control the flow path through the wetland, and control the water depth. Multiple inlets and outlets spaced across either end of the wetland are essential to ensure uniform influent distribution into and flow through the wetland. Inlets: perforated pipe, open trenches extending along the width

Factors effecting performance

1. Water Balance ( precipitation, evapotranspiration): too little water stresses vegetation and too much water causes over flow and hinders settling. This factor needed to be taken into account for HRT calculation. Small impact in SSF 2. HRT: must be able to take all possible water flows 3. Aspect ratio: increase in L/W ratio; concern for head loss though it increases treatment performance. 4. Media gradation: Soils with high humic and sand components are easier for aquatic macrophytes to migrate through. The soil substrate for SF type constructed wetlands should be loam, well loosened and at least 6 inches deep. 5. Temperature(FSF wetlands mostly effected):Ice formation may also alter wetland hydraulics and limit oxygen transfer. Decreased temperatures have been show to reduce rates of biological reactions.

Reliability of CW
Constructed wetlands are an effective and reliable water reclamation technology if they are properly designed, constructed, operated and Maintained Designed usually to remove BOD and suspended solids Loading rate is designed for effluent concentration of: BOD: 30 mg/l TSS: 30 mg/l TKN: 10 mg/l Also used to remove metals, including cadmium, chromium, iron, lead, manganese, selenium, zinc, and toxic organics from wastewater Different case studies shows about 80-95% COD, BOD5 and TSS removal and about 20% nitrogen removal

Comparison of Existing Methods of Secondary Treatment for Wastewater Ease of Operation Reliability Skill for O &M

Waste Stabilization Pond (WSP), Activated Sludge Process (ASP),Reverse Osmosis Process (RO), Up flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB),Reactor, Fluidized Anaerobic Bio (FAB) Reactor and Constructed Wetland(CW)

Detention Time

Land req.

Method

WSP

Simple NIL

Power Req.

Applicability

low

Very good

Very large

15-20 Best method provided the area days is large

ASP
RO UASB

Diff.
Diff.

High
Low

Med. Least Small 4-8 hrs

High High Med. Med. Small 3- 5 days low 1.5-2 days

Best method if land available is less

Effluent can be used for cooling purpose in industries Best method when combined with maturation pond if the land available is very less

Simple Low

FAB CW

Simple Low Very Low Simple

High Very low

Med.

low

16-24 Best method if land available hrs is less

Very Very 6-8 Good Large days

Best method for small communities

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES of ARTIFICAL WETLANDS

Advantages
Relatively inexpensive to construct and operate Easy to maintain

Provide effective and reliable wastewater treatment

Relatively tolerant of fluctuating hydrologic and contaminant loading rates Provide indirect benefits such as green space, wildlife habitats, and recreational and

educational areas

Disadvantages
Relatively large area required for advance treatment than conventional mechanical treatment systems

Possible problems with pests and Potential for odor

problems Reduced performance during the vegetation establishment period For surface flow systems, mosquito control may be necessary Possible groundwater contamination Standard design criteria not readily available to engineers and regulators/ less adoption of the method

Application of Constructed Wetlands in India

 The discharge of untreated wastewater is a major contribution to deteriorating health conditions and pollution of nearby water bodies Concerns for contamination of available water with the rapid pace of urban growth Best option for developing countries and in small villages with less people Also suitable for single households Less expensive, natural and a sustainable solution .

REFERENCES
CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AND DESIGN

GUIDANCE : Iowa Department of Natural Resources

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS MANUAL United Nations Human Settlements Programme CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS: A Techno Economic and Echo Friendly Approach for waste water treatment technology by Dr. Sunil Sharma and Er. Mahendra Pratap Choudhary CONSTRUCTED TREATMENT WETLAND : United States Environmental

Protection Agency