Title
Treatment of tannery wastewater in a pilot scale hybrid constructed wetland system in Arequipa, Peru
Date Issued
01 November 2020
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Abstract
Tannery wastewater is an industrial effluent characterized by high and variable concentrations of complex pollutants. These contaminants pose a high risk to the environment if discharged into a body of water without undergoing proper treatment. This study evaluated the performance of a pilot-scale hybrid constructed wetland system (horizontal subsurface flow + free water surface flow) for tannery wastewater treatment. The pollutant removal efficiency of the hybrid constructed wetland was determined, and the chromium bioaccumulation and growth and survival parameters of the macrophytes Isolepis cernua and Nasturtium aquaticum were evaluated. The 5-day biological oxygen demand, the chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids and chromium reached maximum levels (98%, 97%, 97%, 33% and 98%, respectively) after treatment in the pilot-scale hybrid constructed wetland. The average concentrations of the 5-day biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and chromium were within the discharge limits established by national and international organizations for surface water bodies. The macrophytes had low levels of chromium bioconcentration and translocation, with the growth and survival, especially of Isolepis cernua, revealing a high capacity to adapt to the variability and possible toxic effects of tannery wastewater. In general, the pilot-scale hybrid constructed wetland proved to be a feasible alternative for the treatment of tannery wastewater in an important industrial zone in Peru.
Start page
4419
End page
4430
Volume
17
Issue
11
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Oceanografía, Hidrología, Recursos hídricos Ingeniería ambiental y geológica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85086153567
Source
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
ISSN of the container
17351472
Sponsor(s)
This work was supported by the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín (UNSA) of Arequipa (No. contrato TP-057-2018-UNSA). The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of the Instituto de Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV) of the Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), the UNSA and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica (CONCYTEC), FONDECYT, Perú, which supported the facilities used in this investigation. The authors thank Dr. Paul Hobson, native speaker, for revision of the manuscript and Mr. Mario Huisa M. for his valuable technical contributions to the investigation.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus