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Vertical flow constructed wetlands for the treatment of inorganic ...

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wet and dry cycles, oxidation-reduction (redox) potential, among o<strong>the</strong>rs, which dictate<br />

removal processes, can be easily regulated in order to enhance removal <strong>of</strong> one or more<br />

selected pollutants. It has been verified that <strong>the</strong> maturity <strong>of</strong> a CW system is an<br />

important factor influencing its removal efficiency – pollutant removal in <strong>wetlands</strong> is<br />

dependent on plant and microbial mediated reactions, plant and microbial<br />

communities take time to establish and reach steady state conditions. Because <strong>of</strong> this,<br />

it is common that new <strong>wetlands</strong> improve in pollutant removal per<strong>for</strong>mance as <strong>the</strong>y age<br />

(Bulc, 2006).<br />

The following sections will highlight some major pollutant removal mechanisms<br />

in <strong>constructed</strong> <strong>wetlands</strong> with a greater focus on nitrogen and heavy metals which are<br />

commonly found in <strong>inorganic</strong> industrial wastewaters.<br />

2.4.1 Organic carbon (C)<br />

While organic carbon is a major pollutant in municipal and food/beverage<br />

processing wastewaters, in wastewaters from chemical and fertiliser industries, carbon<br />

is usually lacking. The lack <strong>of</strong> carbon has major implications <strong>for</strong> nitrogen removal<br />

systems relying on <strong>the</strong> conventional denitrification pathway and it will be fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />

discussed in <strong>the</strong> nitrogen section.<br />

Carbon is not considered difficult to remove biologically and, in general,<br />

<strong>wetlands</strong> are efficient in <strong>the</strong> reduction <strong>of</strong> organic matter. Organic carbon compounds in<br />

wastewaters are usually quantified and monitored indirectly by different analytical<br />

techniques with <strong>the</strong> most common being:<br />

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> oxygen consumed by<br />

microorganisms in <strong>the</strong> oxidation <strong>of</strong> organic matter. This test usually runs <strong>for</strong> 5 days and<br />

<strong>the</strong> final oxygen consumption is designated BOD5.<br />

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is <strong>the</strong> amount <strong>of</strong> a chemical oxidant, usually<br />

potassium dichromate, required to oxidise <strong>the</strong> organic matter. This measure is larger<br />

than BOD because <strong>the</strong> strong oxidant oxidises more compounds than microorganisms<br />

do.<br />

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