Evaluation of the different filter media in vertical flow stormwater wetland

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe performance of four different types of filter media, namely woodchip, pot gravel, synthetic fiber, and volcanic stone employed as the main media in a set of column vertical flow stormwater wetlands were evaluated in this study. The evaluation parameters were treatment performance, adsorption capacity, porosity, filtration type, plant growth, substance release, cost, and construction. For pollutant removal, all the media showed efficient reduction of total suspended solids (more than 80%). Similarly, all were efficient in organics removal except for woodchip but it had the highest total nitrogen removal efficiency for 40%. total phosphorous removal was high in synthetic fiber and pot gravel (75 and 65%, respectively) but it was poor in volcanic stone. Pot gravel showed the highest adsorption capacity followed by volcanic stone but their disposal cost may be a burden. Although synthetic fiber has the highest porosity, it was thought to be capable of only surface filtration due to its small pore size while the others were expected to be capable of in-depth filtration. In terms of cost, woodchip was the cheapest followed by pot gravel and volcanic stone, while synthetic fiber was the most expensive. Finally, in terms of construction, all the media are advisable for use except for volcanic stone due to its high loading that can increase construction cost and due to difficult management during construction as well as replacement.

Diffuse Water Pollution from Agriculture: A Review of Nature-Based Solutions for Nitrogen Removal and Recovery

“…Among the artificial materials that have been used as a medium in CWs for N removal, ceramsite [58], activated carbon [59], synthetic fiber [60,61], cement clinker [62], recycled concrete [63], and modified clays [64] can be mentioned.…”

Nitrogen Removal in Column Wetlands Packed with Synthetic Fiber Treating Piggery Stormwater

“…Orhan and Buyukgungor (2000) studied the biodegradability of polyethylene films in soil and found that the soil with higher microbial enrichment showed higher degradability capacity of polyethylene films. However, in our previous study, the same fiber was used to treat urban stormwater but no indication of the release of organic matters was observed, which may be due to the low microbial population in the urban stormwater (Chen et al, 2013).…”