Pollutant removal modeling in a hybrid wetland system for industrial wastewater treatment

NOCETTI, EMANUEL; HADAD, HERNÁN RICARDO; DI LUCA, GISELA ALFONSINA; MUFARREGE, MARÍA DE LAS MERCEDES; MAINE, MARÍA ALEJANDRA

Journal of Water Process Engineering

Elsevier

Año: 2023 vol. 53

2214-7144

Modeling of treatment wetlands allows the prediction of system behavior and facilitates large-scale design byevaluating the effects of modifying the operating parameters. The aim of this study was to calibrate and verifyapplicable models in vertical flow (VF) and horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) wetlands -first and second stage ofthe hybrid wetland (HW) system- operating in site-specific environmental conditions. Stepwise multiple linearregression analysis, oxygen demand model, and k-C* model, were applied to each stage of the HW system asappropriate. All models were calibrated and verified based on the data observed by monitoring the HW system.Afterwards, simulations were performed at each stage of the HW system. The simulations show the dependenceof nitrification on the availability of NH4+-N and also that both, the increase in Org-N and COD loading, affect theefficiency of nitrification in the VF stage. In the HSSF stage, simulations show that the increase in hydraulic orpollutants loading rate has a positive impact on the performance of the system. The fit achieved in the modelswas satisfactory and the results obtained by simulation provide a useful tool to evaluate the performance of theHW system in different possible operating scenarios.