title: Treating swine wastewater by integrating earthworms into constructed wetlands.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the application of integrating earthworms (Pheretima peguana) into two-stage pilot-scale subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (SFCWs) receiving swine wastewater in terms of their treatment performance, namely organic content, total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and solid reduction as well as the quantity of sludge production. There was a minor difference in terms of removal efficiency according to each parameter when comparing the unit with earthworms to the one without earthworms. Both achieved the TKN, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total volatile suspended solids (TVSS), suspended solids (SS), and total solids (TS) removal by more than 90 %. The earthworms helped in reducing the sludge production on the surface of constructed wetlands 40 % by volume, which resulted in lowering operational costs required to empty and treat the sludge. The plant biomass production was higher in the wetlands without earthworms. Further research could be undertaken in order to effectively apply earthworms inside the wetlands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. chackrit.n@chula.ac.th
authors.forename: Chackrit
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nuengjamnong
authors.forename: Nathasith
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chiarawatchai
authors.forename: Chongrak
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Polprasert
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Otterpohl
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D008372:Manure / Q000032:analysis*; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism*; D013552:Swine; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D008372:Manure; D014873:Water Pollutants