NUTRIENT REMOVAL FROM SYNTHETIC WASTEWATER CONTAINING CIPROFLOXACIN AND AMOXICILLIN USING HORIZONTAL FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLAND

Abstract

The removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin in wastewater treatment can be significantly influenced by monthly variations (January-February & March-April) and the presence of vegetation. CWs are one such alternative that can efficiently remove variety of pollutants from wastewater. Constructed Wetland (CWs) is viewed as a low-cost treatment technology with proven treatment efficiency. CWs can treat a variety of contaminants using low energy and natural systems by altering various design parameters. In this study two horizontal flow constructed wetlands (HFCW) are used and the concentration of antibiotics namely ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin, in each synthetic wastewater is 50ppm. The parameters were studied for influent and effluent wastewater. This study reports comparative pollutants removal from synthetic wastewater using HFCW. The water samples were collected as grab samples after 24 hours of duration. Results showed that CWs with reeds shows higher removal efficiency than without reed CWs considering nitrate and phosphate. From the results, it was also concluded that the removal efficiency of nitrate (49-89%) and removal efficiency (%RE) of phosphate ranges between (39-96%) in planted and non-planted CW.