IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i16p9302-d617491.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Removal and Survival of Fecal Indicators in a Constructed Wetland after UASB Pre-Treatment

Author

Listed:
  • Fabio Conti

    (Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Insubria University, 21100 Varese, Italy)

  • Elena Cristina Rada

    (Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Insubria University, 21100 Varese, Italy)

  • Paolo Viotti

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sapienza Università di Roma, 00184 Roma, Italy)

  • Massimo Raboni

    (Department Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy)

Abstract

The experimentation plant, based on a sub-surface horizontal flow phytodepuration (SSHFP) unit with a pre-treatment by an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, proved valuable in treating the sewage of a small rural community located in north Brazil. During a six-month trial, the plant achieved an average removal efficiency of 98.2% (1.74 log removal) for fecal coliforms (FC) and 96.0% (1.40 log removal) for Enterococci (EN), as well as 95.6% for BOD 5 , 91.0% for COD,00 and 95.4% for suspended solids (SS). The contribution of the UASB reactor to this overall performance was very significant as, alone, it achieved a yield of 62.7% for FC and 60% for EN, in addition to 65.2% for BOD 5 and 65.0% for SS. EN was chosen, in addition to FC, because of its higher specificity and strong environmental persistence, leading to an increased risk to human health. In fact, the experimental results confirmed its lower removal efficiency compared to FC. The mechanical and biological mechanisms that led to such a removal efficiency of the two fecal indicators (FIs) are outlined in the article. The same mechanisms led to a good level of equivalence between the removal efficiency of the two FIs with the removal efficiency of SS and BOD 5 , for both the whole plant and the UASB reactor alone. The research demonstrated the close correlation between the concentrations of EN and FC for the plant effluent. This correlation can be explained by the following mathematical expression of the regression line Log EN = 0.2571 Log FC + 3.5301 , with a coefficient of determination R 2 = 0.912. This implies that the concentration of the more specific indicator EN could be calculated, with acceptable approximation, from the simple analysis of FC and vice versa. The experimental plant brought important health benefits to the local population. In particular, there were no significant odor emissions; moreover, the risk of fecal pathogenic diseases was drastically reduced; finally, there was no proliferation of insects and other disease vectors, due to the absence of stagnant or semi-stagnant water exposed to the atmosphere.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabio Conti & Elena Cristina Rada & Paolo Viotti & Massimo Raboni, 2021. "Removal and Survival of Fecal Indicators in a Constructed Wetland after UASB Pre-Treatment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9302-:d:617491
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9302/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9302/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Massimo Raboni & Vincenzo Torretta & Giordano Urbini, 2013. "Influence of Strong Diurnal Variations in Sewage Quality on the Performance of Biological Denitrification in Small Community Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(9), pages 1-11, August.
    2. José Alberto Herrera Melián, 2020. "Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Systems (2018–2019)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-5, March.
    3. Neeha Nawaz & Shafaqat Ali & Ghulam Shabir & Muhammad Rizwan & Muhammad Bilal Shakoor & Munazzam Jawad Shahid & Muhammad Afzal & Muhammad Arslan & Abeer Hashem & Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah & Mohammed Nas, 2020. "Bacterial Augmented Floating Treatment Wetlands for Efficient Treatment of Synthetic Textile Dye Wastewater," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Leticia Y. Kochi & Patricia L. Freitas & Leila T. Maranho & Philippe Juneau & Marcelo P. Gomes, 2020. "Aquatic Macrophytes in Constructed Wetlands: A Fight against Water Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-21, November.
    5. Marco Ragazzi & Riccardo Catellani & Elena Cristina Rada & Vincenzo Torretta & Xavier Salazar-Valenzuela, 2016. "Management of Urban Wastewater on One of the Galapagos Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Luis Carlos Sandoval-Herazo & Alejandro Alvarado-Lassman & José Luis Marín-Muñiz & Juan Manuel Méndez-Contreras & Sergio Aurelio Zamora-Castro, 2018. "Effects of the Use of Ornamental Plants and Different Substrates in the Removal of Wastewater Pollutants through Microcosms of Constructed Wetlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, May.
    7. Stevo Lavrnić & Maribel Zapater Pereyra & Sandra Cristino & Domenico Cupido & Giovanni Lucchese & Maria Rosaria Pascale & Attilio Toscano & Maurizio Mancini, 2020. "The Potential Role of Hybrid Constructed Wetlands Treating University Wastewater—Experience from Northern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-14, December.
    8. José Alberto Herrera-Melián & Mónica Mendoza-Aguiar & Rayco Guedes-Alonso & Pilar García-Jiménez & Marina Carrasco-Acosta & Ezio Ranieri, 2020. "Multistage Horizontal Subsurface Flow vs. Hybrid Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Raw Urban Wastewater," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-15, June.
    9. Massimo Raboni & Renato Gavasci & Giordano Urbini, 2014. "UASB followed by Sub-Surface Horizontal Flow Phytodepuration for the Treatment of the Sewage Generated by a Small Rural Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-15, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Syed Wajid Ali Shah & Mujaddad ur Rehman & Azam Hayat & Razia Tahseen & Sadia Bajwa & Ejazul Islam & Syed Najaf Hasan Naqvi & Ghulam Shabir & Samina Iqbal & Muhammad Afzal & Nabeel Khan Niazi, 2022. "Enhanced Degradation of Ciprofloxacin in Floating Treatment Wetlands Augmented with Bacterial Cells Immobilized on Iron Oxide Nanoparticles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Luis Sandoval & José Luis Marín-Muñiz & Sergio Aurelio Zamora-Castro & Fabiola Sandoval-Salas & Alejandro Alvarado-Lassman, 2019. "Evaluation of Wastewater Treatment by Microcosms of Vertical Subsurface Wetlands in Partially Saturated Conditions Planted with Ornamental Plants and Filled with Mineral and Plastic Substrates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.
    3. José Alberto Herrera-Melián & Rayco Guedes-Alonso & Jean Carlos Tite-Lezcano & Dunia E. Santiago & Ezio Ranieri & Ignacio Alonso-Bilbao, 2023. "The Effect of Effluent Recirculation in a Full-Scale Constructed Wetland System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-12, February.
    4. Andrés Pazmiño & Silvia Serrao-Neumann & Darryl Low Choy, 2018. "Towards Comprehensive Policy Integration for the Sustainability of Small Islands: A Landscape-Scale Planning Approach for the Galápagos Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-29, April.
    5. Katia Ghezali & Nourredine Bentahar & Narcis Barsan & Valentin Nedeff & Emilian Moșneguțu, 2022. "Potential of Canna indica in Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands for Heavy Metals and Nitrogen Removal from Algiers Refinery Wastewater," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Fan Wei & Munazzam Jawad Shahid & Ghalia S. H. Alnusairi & Muhammad Afzal & Aziz Khan & Mohamed A. El-Esawi & Zohaib Abbas & Kunhua Wei & Ihsan Elahi Zaheer & Muhammad Rizwan & Shafaqat Ali, 2020. "Implementation of Floating Treatment Wetlands for Textile Wastewater Management: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-35, July.
    7. Cristina Mateus & Melanie Valencia & Kara DiFrancesco & Valeria Ochoa-Herrera & Todd Gartner & Diego Quiroga, 2020. "Governance Mechanisms and Barriers for Achieving Water Quality Improvements in Galapagos," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-24, October.
    8. Massimo Raboni & Renato Gavasci & Giordano Urbini, 2014. "UASB followed by Sub-Surface Horizontal Flow Phytodepuration for the Treatment of the Sewage Generated by a Small Rural Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-15, October.
    9. Zohaib Ur Rehman Afridi & Wu Jing & Hassan Younas, 2019. "Biogas Production and Fundamental Mass Transfer Mechanism in Anaerobic Granular Sludge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Momina Yasin & Muhammad Tauseef & Zaniab Zafar & Moazur Rahman & Ejazul Islam & Samina Iqbal & Muhammad Afzal, 2021. "Plant-Microbe Synergism in Floating Treatment Wetlands for the Enhanced Removal of Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate from Water," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-11, March.
    11. Ali Chabuk & Nadhir Al-Ansari & Mohammad Ezz-Aldeen & Jan Laue & Roland Pusch & Hussain Musa Hussain & Sven Knutsson, 2018. "Two Scenarios for Landfills Design in Special Conditions Using the HELP Model: A Case Study in Babylon Governorate, Iraq," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-27, January.
    12. Erick Arturo Betanzo-Torres & María de los Ángeles Piñar-Álvarez & Celia Gabriela Sierra-Carmona & Luis Enrique García Santamaria & Cecilia-Irene Loeza-Mejía & José Luis Marín-Muñiz & Luis Carlos Sand, 2021. "Proposal of Ecotechnologies for Tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) Production in Mexico: Economic, Environmental, and Social Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-18, June.
    13. Qiong Wan & Qingji Han & Hailin Luo & Tao He & Feng Xue & Zihuizhong Ye & Chen Chen & Shan Huang, 2020. "Ceramsite Facilitated Microbial Degradation of Pollutants in Domestic Wastewater," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-13, June.
    14. Vincenzo Torretta & Marco Ragazzi & Ettore Trulli & Giovanni De Feo & Giordano Urbini & Massimo Raboni & Elena Cristina Rada, 2014. "Assessment of Biological Kinetics in a Conventional Municipal WWTP by Means of the Oxygen Uptake Rate Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-15, April.
    15. Anna Turek & Kinga Wieczorek & Wojciech M. Wolf, 2019. "Digestion Procedure and Determination of Heavy Metals in Sewage Sludge—An Analytical Problem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, March.
    16. Giordano Urbini & Renato Gavasci & Paolo Viotti, 2015. "Oxygen Control and Improved Denitrification Efficiency by Means of a Post-Anoxic Reactor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-12, January.
    17. Sofia Dias & Ana P. Mucha & Rute Duarte Crespo & Pedro Rodrigues & C. Marisa R. Almeida, 2020. "Livestock Wastewater Treatment in Constructed Wetlands for Agriculture Reuse," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-21, November.
    18. D. Marmanis & C. Emmanouil & J. G. Fantidis & A. Thysiadou & K. Marmani, 2022. "Description of a Fe/Al Electrocoagulation Method Powered by a Photovoltaic System, for the (Pre-)Treatment of Municipal Wastewater of a Small Community in Northern Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, April.
    19. Christopher C. Azubuike & Fay Couceiro & Samuel C. Robson & Maya Z. Piccinni & Joy E. M. Watts & John B. Williams & Anastasia J. Callaghan & Thomas P. Howard, 2022. "Developing Biosensors for SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: A Systematic Review of Trends, Limitations and Future Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-23, December.
    20. Andrea Guerrini & Giulia Romano & Alessandro Indipendenza, 2017. "Energy Efficiency Drivers in Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Double Bootstrap DEA Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-13, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:9302-:d:617491. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.