Abstract
This study investigates the performance of laboratory-scale vegetative biofiltration systems in reducing five heavy metals [cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn)] from synthetic graywater. Thirty-six biofiltration columns of the same design were constructed, and twelve species of ornamental plants were planted, with three specimens from each species being planted in a single column. The study was conducted for six months in an arid climate. The overall removal efficiency for Zn and Cu was found to be about 98% and 75%, respectively. It was observed that soil Zn and Cu concentrations increased from 11.24 to and from 11.09 to , respectively, after irrigation with graywater. Zn and Cu were mainly removed by soil accumulation and plant uptake, respectively. Both Pb and Cr increased in effluent (about 29% and 6.5%, respectively) and in soil (about 12% and 63%, respectively) after irrigation with graywater, whereas Cd increased in effluent (about 7.6%) but decreased in soil (about 46%). Finally, the plants were ranked and recommended for application based on their performance consistency and effectiveness. The species Alternanthera ficondea topped the ranking, followed by the species Ixora coccinaea, Vitex agnus, Rhoeo discolor, and Jasmine sambac.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The study is supported by a UAEU National Water Center–funded interdisciplinary research grant (31R045-Research Center-NWC-2-2014) titled “Greywater Reuse in Arid Climates through the Water Sensitive Urban Design Systems.” Review comments from the two anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged.
References
Allen, R. G., L. S. Pereira, D. Raes, and M. Smith. 1998. Crop evapotranspiration—Guidelines for computing crop water requirements: FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.
Blecken, G., Y. Zinger, A. Deletić, T. Fletcher, and M. Viklander. 2008. “Heavy metal removal by stormwater biofilters: Can it withstand alternative wetting and drying conditions?” In Proc., 11th Int. Conf. on Urban Drainage. London: International Water Association.
Blick, S. A., F. Kelly, and J. J. Skupien. 2004. New Jersey stormwater best management practices manual. Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection, Division of Watershed Management.
Chowdhury, R. K. 2015. “Greywater reuse through a bioretention system prototype in the arid region.” Water Sci. Technol. 72 (12): 2201–2211. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2015.442.
Chowdhury, R. K., W. El-Shorbagy, M. Ghanma, and A. El-Ashkar. 2015. “Quantitative assessment of residential water end uses and greywater generation in the City of Al Ain.” Water Sci. Technol.: Water Supply 15 (1): 114–123.
Chowdhury, R. K., and M. A. Rajput. 2015. “Water consumption pattern in the traditional villas of Abu Dhabi.” In Proc., 21st Int. Congress on Modelling and Simulation. Melbourne, Australia: Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Davis, A. P. 2007. “Field performance of biofiltration: Water quality.” Environ. Eng. Sci. 24 (8): 1048–1064. https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2006.0190.
Davis, A. P., M. Shokouhian, and S. Ni. 2001. “Loading estimates of lead, copper, cadmium, and zinc in urban runoff from specific sources.” Chemosphere 44 (5): 997–1009. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(00)00561-0.
Davis, A. P., M. Shokouhian, H. Sharma, and C. Minami. 2006. “Water quality improvement through biofiltration media: Nitrogen and phosphorus removal.” Water Environ. Res. 78 (3): 284–293. https://doi.org/10.2175/106143005X94376.
Davis, A. P., M. Shokouhian, H. Sharma, C. Minami, and D. Winogradoff. 2003. “Water quality improvement through biofiltration: Lead, copper, and zinc removal.” Water Environ. Res. 75 (1): 73–82. https://doi.org/10.2175/106143003X140854.
Diaper, C., M. Toifl, and M. Storey. 2008. “Greywater technology testing protocol.” In CSIRO: Water for a healthy country national research flagship. Clayton, VIC, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.
Elbana, T. A., M. A. Ramadan, H. M. Gaber, M. H. Bahnassy, F. M. Kishk, and H. M. Selim. 2013. “Heavy metals accumulation and spatial distribution in long term wastewater irrigated soils.” J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 1 (4): 925–933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2013.08.005.
Eriksson, E., and E. Donner. 2009. “Metals in greywater: Sources, presence and removal efficiencies.” Desalination 248 (1): 271–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2008.05.065.
Fowdar, H. S., B. E. Hatt, T. Cresswell, J. J. Harrison, P. L. M. Cook, and A. Deletic. 2017. “Phosphorus fate and dynamics in greywater biofiltration systems.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 51 (4): 2280–2287. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b04181.
Geronimo, F. K. F., M. C. Maniquiz-Redillas, and L. H. Kim. 2015. “Fate and removal of nutrients in biofiltration systems.” Desalin. Water Treat. 53 (11): 3072–3079. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2014.922308.
Ghaitidak, D. M., and K. D. Yadav. 2013. “Characteristics and treatment of greywater—A review.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 20 (5): 2795–2809. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1533-0.
Gross, A., O. Shmueli, Z. Ronen, and E. Raveh. 2007. “Recycled vertical flow constructed wetland (RVFCW)—A novel method of recycling greywater for irrigation in small communities and households.” Chemosphere 66 (5): 916–923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.06.006.
Hathaway, J. M., R. A. Brown, J. S. Fu, and W. F. Hunt. 2014. “Biofiltration function under climate change scenarios in North Carolina, USA.” J. Hydrol. 519 (Part A): 503–511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.07.037.
Hatt, B., A. Deletic, and T. Fletcher. 2007. “Stormwater reuse: Designing biofiltration systems for reliable treatment.” Water Sci. Technol. 55 (4): 201–209. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2007.110.
Hatt, B. E., T. D. Fletcher, and A. Deletic. 2008. “Hydraulic and pollutant removal performance of fine media stormwater filtration systems.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 42 (7): 2535–2541. https://doi.org/10.1021/es071264p.
Hatt, B. E., T. D. Fletcher, and A. Deletic. 2009. “Hydrologic and pollutant removal performance of stormwater biofiltration systems at the field scale.” J. Hydrol. 365 (3–4): 310–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.12.001.
Kim, I. S., K. H. Kang, and J. G. Perry. 2003. “Investigation of heavy metal accumulation in Polygonum thunbergii for phytoextraction.” Environ. Pollut. 126 (2): 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0269-7491(03)00190-8.
Langergraber, G. 2005. “The role of plant uptake on the removal of organic matter and nutrients in subsurface flow constructed wetlands: A simulation study.” Water Sci. Technol. 51 (9): 213–223. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2005.0322.
Le Coustumer, S., T. D. Fletcher, A. Deletic, and M. Potter. 2008. Hydraulic performance of biofilter systems for stormwater management: Lessons from a field study. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Melbourne Water Corporation.
Li, H., and A. P. Davis. 2008. “Heavy metal capture and accumulation in biofiltration media.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 42 (14): 5247–5253. https://doi.org/10.1021/es702681j.
Li, Z., H. Gulyas, M. Jahn, D. R. Gajurel, and R. Otterpohl. 2004. “Greywater treatment by constructed wetlands in combination with TiO2-based photocatalytic oxidation for suburban and rural areas without sewer system.” Water Sci. Technol. 48 (11–12): 101–106. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2004.0815.
Madyiwa, S., M. J. Chimbari, C. F. Schutte, and N. Nyamangara. 2003. “Greenhouse studies on the phyto-extraction capacity of Cynodont nlemfuensis for lead and cadmium under irrigation with treated wastewater.” Phys. Chem. Earth 28 (20–27): 859–867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2003.08.029.
Paulo, P. L., C. Azevedo, L. Begosso, A. F. Galbiati, and M. A. Boncz. 2013. “Natural systems treating greywater and blackwater on-site: Integrating treatment, reuse and landscaping.” Ecol. Eng. 50 (Jan): 95–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.03.022.
Prathapar, S. A., A. Jamrah, M. Ahmed, S. Al Adawi, S. Al Sidairi, and A. Al Harassi. 2005. “Overcoming constraints in treated greywater reuse in Oman.” Desalination 186 (1–3): 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2005.01.018.
Prodanovica, V., B. Hatt, D. McCarthy, K. Zhang, and A. Deletic. 2017. “Green walls for greywater reuse: Understanding the role of media on pollutant removal.” Ecol. Eng. 102 (2017): 625–635. https://doi.org.10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.02.045.
Sarret, G., J. Vangronsveld, A. Manceau, M. Musso, J. D’Haen, J.-J. Menthonnex, and J.-L. Hazemann. 2001. “Accumulation forms of Zn and Pb in Phaseolus vulgaris in the presence and absence of EDTA.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 35 (13): 2854–2859. https://doi.org/10.1021/es000219d.
Stilwell, D. E., T. M. Rathier, C. L. Musante, and J. F. Ranciato. 2008. Lead and other heavy metals in community garden soils in Connecticut, Bulletin 1019. New Haven, CT: Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.
Sun, X., and A. P. Davis. 2007. “Heavy metal fates in laboratory biofiltration systems.” Chemosphere 66 (9): 1601–1609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.08.013.
Sungur, A., M. Soylak, E. Yilmaz, S. Yilmaz, and H. Ozcan. 2014. “Characterization of heavy metal fractions in agricultural soils by sequential extraction procedure: The relationship between soil properties and heavy metal fractions.” Soil Sediment Contam.: Int. J. 24 (1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320383.2014.907238.
Trowsdale, S. A., and R. Simcock. 2011. “Urban stormwater treatment using biofiltration.” J. Hydrol. 397 (3): 167–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.11.023.
Turer, D., J. B. Maynard, and J. J. Sansalone. 2001. “Heavy metal contamination in soils of urban highways: Comparison between runoff and soil concentrations at Cincinnati, Ohio.” Water Air Soil Pollut. 132 (3/4): 293–314. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013290130089.
Turner, R. D., M. S. J. Warne, L. A. Dawes, S. Vardy, and G. D. Will. 2016. “Irrigated greywater in an urban sub-division as a potential source of metals to soil, groundwater and surface water.” J. Environ. Manage. 183 (Part 3): 806–817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.09.021.
Vymazal, J. 2011a. “Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment: Five decades of experience.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 45 (1): 61–69. https://doi.org/10.1021/es101403q.
Vymazal, J. 2011b. “Plants used in constructed wetlands with horizontal subsurface flow: A review.” Hydrobiologia 674 (1): 133–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0738-9.
Wong, T. H. F. 2006. “An overview of water sensitive urban design practices in Australia.” Water Pract. Technol. 1 (1): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2006.018.
Woods-Ballard, B., R. Kellagher, P. Martin, C Jefferies, R. Bray, and P. Shaffer. 2007. “Bioretention.” Vol. 697 of The SUDS manual. London: CIRIA.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 11 • November 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 2, 2017
Accepted: May 22, 2018
Published online: Aug 28, 2018
Published in print: Nov 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 28, 2019
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.