Performance evaluation of Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands by treating urban Domestic wastewater using multivariate statistical analysis

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Shobha Rani Polepaka, Ramamohan Reddy,Suhas Wani, Mukund Patil

Abstract

The constructed wetland (CW) technology for eliminating contaminants from wastewater is environmentally favorable. A one-year pilot study was conducted at ICRISAT in Hyderabad (Telangana) to evaluate the efficacy of subsurface flow–constructed wetlands (SSF-CWs). To treat and evaluate their suitability for irrigation reuse, urban domestic wastewater was continuously fed into non-vegetative and vegetative wetland chambers with combination vegetation of Typhalatifolia & Ageratum conyzoids (CW-T) and Canna indica & Ageratum conyzoids (CW-C) and Control (non-vegetative). For one year, raw wastewater and treated wastewater were collected monthly and analyzed for quality. pH, BOD, COD, Total Solids, Total Suspended Solids, Total Dissolved Solids, Nitrogen, Sulphates, Ammonia, and Phosphorus were all investigated. The concentrations of all parameters are reduced by 60 to 90 percent in this constructed wetland (approx.). Water quality parameters were analyzed using statistical approaches such as principal component analysis (PCA), correlation analysis, time series analysis, and cluster analysis. In this investigation, PCA identified a reduced number of two primary components, showing that 95% of changes affect water quality. The first factor explained 51% of the variance in EC, TDS, COD, Nitrates, and Ammonia. The second factor accounted for 44% of the remaining variance in pH, BOD, Phosphates, and Sulphates. Between EC, TDS, Nitrates, Ammonia, and COD, the dendrogram of physicochemical parameter similarity revealed a maximum similarity of 76.85 percent. The SSF-CWs for the treatment of urban wastewater achieved more than 80% removal efficiency with no running expenses, minimal maintenance costs, enhances the environment, provides a natural habitat for birds, is odor-free, and can be recommended for agricultural use, according to this study.

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