Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.3390/w15193375
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Effect of hydraulic loading rate on treatment performance of a pilot wetland roof treating greywater from a household
Author Rahman, K.Z.; Chen, X.; Blumberg, M.; Bernhard, K.; Müller, R.A.; Mackenzie, K. ORCID logo ; Trabitzsch, R.; Moeller, L.
Source Titel Water
Year 2023
Department TUCHEM; ENVINF; UBZ
Volume 15
Issue 9
Page From art. 3375
Language englisch
Topic T7 Bioeconomy
T5 Future Landscapes
Keywords green technology; design; pollutants removal; evapotranspiration; discharge; greywater reuse
Abstract To solve the upcoming environmental problems, sponge city concepts as well as new technologies are being developed these days. One of the future challenges is to reduce drinking water demand by using decentralized water recycling systems. This study aimed to investigate the performance of a specially designed pilot wetland roof (PWR) treating domestic greywater (GW) at ground level under outdoor conditions and to evaluate the effects of different hydraulic loading rates (HLRs) for a period of two years. The results showed highly efficient removal of typical greywater pollutants from the system, e.g., five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) > 96%, chemical oxygen demand (COD) > 93%, total suspended solids (TSS) >94%, anionic surfactants (AS) > 94%, ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N) > 84%, total nitrogen (TN) > 71%, total phosphorous (TP) > 87%, and E. coli (1.86 ± 1.54 log-removal). The mean concentrations of the targeted parameters at the outflow were in compliance with the requirements for discharge to the environment and met reclaimed water quality standards for agricultural irrigation, except for E. coli. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) results of pollutant mass removal rate across different HLRs indicated the potential effect of HLR on treatment performance, and HLR in a range of 67–80 L m–2 d–1 contributed to a higher removal efficiency without compromising the limit values. A comparatively low HLR of 45 L m–2 d–1 should be applicable if pathogen removal is the most important requirement. Plant species showed good plant vitality and adapted well to the water storage mat. The higher the mean ambient air temperature, the greater runoff reduction (>50%) was observed due to high evapotranspiration. The results showed the system is a promising green technology for GW recycling and can be scaled up for application to urban buildings.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=27990
Rahman, K.Z., Chen, X., Blumberg, M., Bernhard, K., Müller, R.A., Mackenzie, K., Trabitzsch, R., Moeller, L. (2023):
Effect of hydraulic loading rate on treatment performance of a pilot wetland roof treating greywater from a household
Water 15 (9), art. 3375 10.3390/w15193375