A laboratory-scale study of residential greywater treatment with sugarcane in a constructed wetland

Abstract

Water recycling is essential to reduce water scarcity in India due to population growth. Water for consumption is most crucial, it is equally important to provide water for irrigation to increase food production and livestock husbandry, to ensure food security for the increasing population. This paper deals with recycling and reuse of residential greywater (Wastewater from bathtubs, showers, hand washing basins and washing machines, kitchen sinks except for wastewater from toilet ushing system). In domestic wastewater 2/3 of wastewater is considered greywater. This greywater can be treated and reused for gardening, ushing, construction purposes, etc. Conventional treatment systems are highly sensitive and necessitate good monitoring and e cient process control. Hence, the natural wastewater treatment options such as treatment using aquatic plants are becoming quite attractive in this view. In this study, the sugarcane variety of CO86032 and CO 15027 were used for phytoremediation. Coarse aggregate (20 mm), Brick jelly (20 mm), and Red soil mixed with Coir pith (1/3 volume-based) were used as lter material of laboratory-scale constructed subsurface wetland system having size 0.92 m, 0.61 m, and 0.45 m of length, breadth, and depth respectively. The removal e ciency of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), and Total Nitrogen (TN) was 77-89%, 66-81%, 70-91%, and 68-84% achieved during a retention time of 2 hours to 48 hours.