title: Performance Evaluation of Integrated Constructed Wetland for Domestic Wastewater Treatment.
abstract: Simple, budget friendly, laboratory-scale integrated constructed wetland (ICW) was designed to assess domestic wastewater treatment performance at a loading rate of 75 mm/d, planted with native plant species: Veronica-angallis aquatica and compared with non-vegetative control system at various residence times of 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28 days. Results revealed that the vegetated ICW demonstrated superior performance over non-vegetated control: 69.12 vs 17.12%, 67.77 vs 16.04%, 68 vs 16.48%, 71.19 vs 6.56%, 71.54 vs 14.80%, and 72.04 vs 11.41% for total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, phosphates (PO4(-)), sulfate (SO4(-)), nitrate (NO3(-)), and nitrite (NO2(-)), respectively, at 20 days residence times. Reduction in bacterial counts (2.79 × 10(4) CFU/mL) and fecal pathogens (345.5 MPN index/100 mL) was observed in V. aquatica at 20 days residence time. Therefore, the present study highlights not only the presence of vegetation but also appropriate residence time in constructed wetlands for better performances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Shama
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sehar
authors.forename: Iffat
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Naz
authors.forename: Sumera
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Sana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naeem
authors.forename: Irum
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Perveen
authors.forename: Naeem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Safia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009812:Odorants; D032264:Veronica; D014871:Water Microbiology; D018508:Water Purification; D053833:Wetlands