Nutrient removal from piggery effluent using vertical flow constructed wetlands in southern Brazil
Sezerino, P.H.; Reginatto, V.; Santos, M.A.; Kayser, K.; Kunst, S.; Philippi, L.S.; Soares, H.M.
Water Science and Technology a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research 48(2): 129-135
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0273-1223 PMID: 14510203 Document Number: 552859
Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, has the greatest swine breeding activities of Latin America. Generally, the piggery waste water is treated in pond systems that are able to remove organic material according to local environmental legislation. However, these systems do not remove nitrogen and phosphorus efficiently. This work deals with a post-treatment system, using vertical flow constructed wetlands. The experiment was conducted during October 2000-October 2001 in a swine production farm which has 45 000 animals. Although the pond system was able to partially remove the content of nutrients, their concentration in the effluent was high for environmental disposal. A four-bed vertical flow constructed wetland pilot plant, using Typha spp., was built. The pilot plant operated for 280 days for beds 2-4 (sand 2). However, the experiments with beds 1-3 (sand 1) were stopped after 111 days of operation, when a reduction in the waste water drainage was observed. The beds with sand 2 showed a 33% chemical oxygen demand removal, and ~49% of nitrification was observed from 111 days until the end of the operation. PO4-P removal was 45% with a loading rate of ~1.36 g m-2 day-1.