Using dewatered sludge from a drinking water treatment plant for phosphorus removal in constructed wetlands

Abstract

[EN] This study evaluates the applicability of drinking water sludge as an active substrate in vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands (VFCW) for advanced wastewater treatment. This treatment enables the achievement of greater phosphorus removals, as well as other pollutants, reaching concentrations below the required limits and obtaining suitable water for different uses, particularly environmental ones. To this end, two prototypes, one of them operating intermittently and another one with continuous flow, have been installed at Quart-Benàger urban wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), facility property of Entidad Pública de Saneamiento de Aguas Residuales (EPSAR) of the Valencian region. Preliminary results indicate that the reuse of the drinking water sludge as an active substrate in VFCW improves the quality of WWTP effluents, minimizing their impact on the receiving aquatic environments.