The assessment of an integrated bio-filter systems for the wastewaters treatment in arid regions (Touggourt, Algeria)

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the water quality parameters resulting on: First, the flow direction in biofilters (ascending or descending), second, constructed wetland (CW) with local plant species and third, the combined system for the removal of organic matter and nutrients pollutants from water in arid regions. Design/methodology/approach An integrated system is presented and tested in situ with a vertical up-flow and down-flow biofilters. Two configurations schemes are followed by a three separated horizontal subsurface CWs: two planted with Phragmites australis, Typha latifolia and the third unplanted. The methodology is based on a statistical analysis of the collected data. Findings The present experiment demonstrated that the wetlands planted with P. australis and T. latifolia showed the highest removal. Moreover, T. latifolia performed better than P. australis for most of the parameters, notably in the first system, whereas the wetland efficiency indicated that P. australis contributed greatly to the removal of TP in the first system and NO3-N in the second system. In general, for the highest removal efficiencies of the combined biofilters and wetlands system, the present study demonstrated that the first system performed better than the second for all the parameters. Originality/value The originality of the research is that it compares in situ two biofilter systems: vertical up-flow and down-flow biofilters. To avoid the effects of domestic wastewater that is discharged directly without treatment in the Oued Righ channel or in the lake, this integrated system can be one of the alternatives for wastewater treatment, as it reveals the need to protect aquatic ecosystems in arid regions, and can decrease the risks to human health and the environment.

Integrated Methods for Household Greywater Treatment: Modified Biofiltration and Phytoremediation

“…Similarly, the biofiltration + HSSFCW combined treatment system reduced TN by 68.24% at a mean DO concentration of 0.51 ± 0.2 mg/L and at a mean temperature of 21.7 ± 0.56°C ( Table 4 ). This is lower than the result (87.6%) reported by Amiri and Tarik Hartani [ 66 ] who assessed an integrated biofilter + CW system for household wastewater treatment in Algeria's arid regions. The reason for this could be that nitrogen removal is frequently influenced by nitrogen species transformation, vegetation, media, wastewater type, and hydraulic retention times [ 99 ].…”

“…In the biofiltration, the mean percent reduction of TN was 45.7%. This result was higher than the results (21.3%) reported by Amiri and Tarik Hartani [ 66 ] who evaluated combined biofilter and CW system for household wastewater treatment in Algeria's arid regions.…”

“…Furthermore, the combined biofiltration and HSSFCW removed 71.6% of TP at mean temperature and pH value of 21.7 ± 0.6°C and 6.68 ± 0.36, respectively. This was less than the mean percent value of TP (87.72%) reported by Amiri and Tarik Hartani [ 66 ] in the household wastewater treatment by biofiltration combined with HSSFCW. The differences in the findings could be attributed to differences in the phosphorus concentration in the influent to the beds, as well as differences in the HRT, and material used to construct the beds [ 105 ].…”

“…The following sampling points were chosen based on the treatment system's configuration: sampling point 1 (raw greywater), sampling point 2 (after biofiltration), sampling point 3 (after HSSFCW), and sampling point 4 (after HSSFCW, after control CW). A total of 20 samples were collected throughout the monitoring period after the hydraulic retention time of 3 days [ 65 , 66 ].…”

Performance of Canna indica and Typha latifolia in mono and mixed culture for secondary wastewater treatment in constructed wetlands with vertical flows under arid conditions (Touggourt, Algeria)

“…Different plant composition designs have been applied to VFCWs to test their effects on pollutant removal because nutrient absorption rates vary between plant species (Sirianuntapiboon & Jitvimolnimit 2007;Van de Moortel et al 2010). In the same region, many studies have experimented on plants in monoculture (Amiri et al 2019;Bebba et al 2019;Yahiaoui et al 2020). More research on these plant species is necessary to ascertain the effectiveness of plants in mixed cultures.…”