Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160

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Journal of Water Process Engineering

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Sustainable greywater management with Axonopus compressus

(broadleaf carpet grass) planted in sub surface flow constructed
wetlands
V. Arunbabu, S. Sruthy, Ignatius Antony, E.V. Ramasamy ∗
School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills P.O., Kottayam, Kerala 686560, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The scarcity of freshwater has emerged as one of the most pressing problems of the 21st century. This
Received 27 December 2014 problem could be addressed partially by collection, treatment and reuse of greywater. In this context,
Received in revised form 5 June 2015 constructed wetlands (CWs) become attractive due to their simple mode of operation, effectiveness in
Accepted 9 June 2015
treatment and applicability at small/single household levels as well as in community levels. Hence the
present study investigates the treatment of greywater in a laboratory scale horizontal sub-surface flow
Keywords:
constructed wetland planted with Axonopus compressus (Sw.) P. Beauv. – a common landscape plant. The
Water reuse
experiment was conducted for a period of 50 days with change in wastewater every 10 days (1 run). During
Greywater treatment
Phytoremediation
each run the wastewater was circulated using a peristaltic pump at an HRT of 7.8 h. The results show
Constructed wetlands that CWs planted with A. compressus performed well in the treatment of greywater than the unplanted
Wastewater treatment control with an average removal of 93% turbidity, 95% COD, 98% NO3 − –N, 67% PO4 3− –P, and 95% of anionic
Rhizosphere treatment surfactants. The plant also survived well with increase in biomass and number during the experiment
and proved to be an efficient bioagent suitable for the treatment of greywater in CWs. The study further
suggests that the use of commercially valuable ornamental plants in the CWs as bioagents will improve
the aesthetic beauty, public acceptance and help to generate revenue apart from the major benefit of
wastewater treatment.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction One approach which has gained popularity in recent years is

the separation of greywater from general sewage, for the pur-
The scarcity of freshwater is one of the major concerns in devel- pose of onsite treatment and reuse [3]. Greywater which is defined
oping as well as in developed countries. With rapidly growing as urban wastewater without any input from toilets, generally
population and improving living standards the pressure on fresh- includes water from sources such as baths, showers, hand wash
water resources is increasing, leading to the reduction in the daily basins, washing machines, dishwashers and kitchen sinks [4,5].
per capita availability of freshwater. For example the per capita It contains low concentration of organic matter, nutrients and
surface water availability in India during the years 1991 and 2001 pathogens as compared to black water [6] and comprises upto 75%
were 2300 m3 and 1980 m3 , respectively, and estimated projec- of the wastewater produced in households [7]. Hence separate col-
tions indicate further reduction to the levels of 1401 m3 by the year lection, treatment and reuse of greywater will help to reduce the
2025 and 1191 m3 by the year 2050 [1]. Adding to this problem, pressure on freshwater resources and wastewater treatment plants
in most of the developing countries centralized sewer systems and [3]. It will also help to meet the projected water demand of the
wastewater treatment plants exist only in larger cities, whereas the future in a sustainable way [8].
small and medium-sized towns generally discharge their wastew- Motivated by the facts cited, several treatment technologies
ater untreated into the environment [2]. In this context, it is high (physical, chemical and biological) were developed in the past
time to think about cost effective, easy to operate, safe and sustain- and tested with varying degrees of magnitude and success. How-
able solutions to the present day’s water crisis. ever many of the high technology wastewater treatment systems
are not suitable for developing countries since they require high
initial investment, consistent power supply and skilled labor for
operation and maintenance [9]. On the other hand, constructed
∗ Corressponding author.
wetlands, which depend on natural processes for pollutant removal
E-mail address: evramasamy@[Link] (E.V. Ramasamy).

[Link]
2214-7144/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
154 V. Arunbabu et al. / Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160

have been considered as a promising environment friendly option Table 1

Composition of the synthetic greywater.
and cost effective technology for greywater treatment and reuse
[10]. The treatment efficiency of constructed wetlands is supposed Constituents Concentration
to be higher in tropical countries due to the warm tempera- Lactic acid 100 mg/l
ture and associated higher rate of microbial activities and plant Cellulose 100 mg/l
growth. Moreover the versatility of constructed wetlands usable at Sodium dodecyl sulphate 50 mg/l
small/single household levels as well as in community levels makes Glycerol 200 mg/l
Sodium hydrogen carbonate 70 mg/l
it a preferred option for the treatment of greywater.
Sodium sulphate 50 mg/l
Constructed wetlands (CWs) are engineered systems that have Potassium nitrate 36.08 mg/l
been designed and constructed to utilize the natural processes Potassium di hydrogen phosphate 21.95 mg/l
involving wetland vegetation, soils, and the associated microbial Source: Modified from Hourlier et al. [22]
assemblages to assist in treating wastewater [11]. They are consid-
ered as a complex bioreactor with a number of physical, chemical
and biological processes involving substratum, microbial commu- tolerant plant commonly used for landscaping in this region. The
nities and plants [12]. CWs are generally classified as surface flow findings of the study would be useful in developing simple, com-
(SF) and subsurface flow (SSF) systems. Surface flow (SF) CWs pact, cost effective and aesthetically pleasing constructed wetland
are densely vegetated systems with open water surfaces and typ- systems for greywater treatment.
ically have water depths of less than 0.4 m. In subsurface flow
(SSF) CWs, the water flows underneath and through the plant root- 2. Materials and methods
ing media and water level is maintained below the surface of the
substratum. SSF–CWs are further subdivided into horizontal flow 2.1. Source and preparation of Axonopus compressus
(HF) and vertical flow (VF) systems depending on the direction of
water flow through the porous medium (sand or gravel) [13,14]. A. compressus (Sw.) P. Beauv., commonly known as broadleaf car-
The SSF–CWs are reported to cause fewer problems arising from pet grass or blanket grass was used as bio agent in the present study.
odors, insects or public exposure than SF–CWs [15] and hence are The plant belongs to the family Poaceae. The plants were collected
suitable for the onsite treatment and reuse of greywater. Studies from the campus of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, India.
showed that SSF–CWs are effective in removing pollutants such as Special attention was given to collect plants of uniform size and to
suspended solids, organic matter and nutrients from wastewater. avoid root damage during collection. The plants were transferred to
This is achieved as a result of microbiological degradation, plant the laboratory immediately after collection and were washed care-
up-take and by physical–chemical processes such as filtration, sed- fully in running tap water and then with distilled water to remove
imentation and adsorption. Anaerobic and aerobic processes were sand/clay particles. Each planted CW was provided with 25 healthy
reported to take place within the pores of the filter media [14]. Most plants (92.6 plants per m2 ) of more or less equal size and weight
performance data available for CW systems are from temperate having equal number of leaves.
climates, but the treatment performance is expected to be signifi-
cantly higher in tropical areas because of the high temperature and 2.2. Greywater
the associated higher microbial activity [2].
The literature is rich with reports suggesting that plants have Synthetic greywater was prepared in the laboratory by modify-
a positive role in the removal of pollutants in constructed wet- ing the procedure given by Hourlier et al. [22] and the same was
lands. Most of the plants used in constructed wetlands are either used in the experiments. The composition of the synthetic greywa-
weeds or aquatic plants, which have the characteristic of higher ter is shown in Table 1.
growth rate – an important criteria needed in phytoremediation.
A few examples of plants used in constructed wetlands are Colo- 2.3. Analytical methods
casia esculenta [16,17], Typha latifolia [17–19], Phragmites australis
[20] etc. However for the onsite application of constructed wet- The wastewater samples were analysed periodically starting
lands ornamental and landscape plants are preferred much due from zero hour for different physico-chemical parameters. The pH
to their aesthetic appeal. Konnerup et al. [9] studied the perfor- was measured using digital pH meter (Systronics, India), Turbidity
mance of two ornamental plants Canna (Canna × generalis L. Bailey by TN-100 Turbidimeter (Eutech, Singapore), Electrical Conduc-
cv. Red King Humbert) and Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum L.f. × H. tivity and Total Dissolved Solids were measured using digital
spathocircinata Aristeguieta cv. Golden Torch) in a pilot-scale sub- conductivity meter (Mettler-Toledo, Switzerland), COD, NO3 − –N,
surface flow constructed wetland treating domestic wastewater. PO4 3− –P and Anionic surfactants were analyzed according to stan-
They reported efficient removal of COD, whereas the removal of dard procedures [23]. All analyses were completed within 24 h of
total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) was low. They further sampling.
reported plant uptake as a significant removal process for nutrients
in lightly loaded systems. In another study Ling et al. [21] compared 2.4. Experimental design
the performance of two ornamental plants Syzygium campanula-
tum and Ficus microcarpa in a constructed wetland. Considering the Three constructed wetlands (CWs) were fabricated using plastic
large amount of data available on weeds and aquatic plants, very crates with 60 cm × 45 cm × 48.5 cm (L × W × D) dimensions. Rock
few are available on the performance of terrestrial ornamental or chips of charnockite (gravel) having 6–10 mm diameter and with
landscape plants, perhaps none on greywater treatment. Hence the a porosity of 0.43 was used as sole bed material. The gravel was
present study examines the treatment of greywater in a horizontal washed thoroughly with tap water and sun dried before filling the
subsurface flow constructed wetland system planted with a com- crates. The crates were filled with gravel up to 35 cm depth. All
mon landscape plant Axonopus compressus. The primary aim is to constructed wetlands were arranged with a gentle slope, so that
evaluate the feasibility of using A. compressus to purify greywater the greywater flows slowly from the upstream end to the down-
in a laboratory scale CW system. A comparison was also made on stream end through the gravel bed. A PVC pipe having 43 cm length
the performance of vegetated CWs (planted with A. compressus) perforated at uniform intervals (8 cm) was fitted horizontally in the
and the control CWs (having no plants). A. compressus is a shade upstream end of each CW just above the gravel bed in order to serve
 V. Arunbabu et al. / Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160 155

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the subsurface flow constructed wetland with A. compressus plants.

as the inlet which distributed the greywater uniformly on the gravel greywater – mentioned as treated greywater in the rest of the text
bed. Another PVC pipe perforated at uniform intervals (10 cm) and – from each CW was drained out completely and untreated, fresh
fitted vertically at the downstream end of each CW served as the greywater was filled in each CW and the treatment was contin-
outlet (Fig. 1). Each of the constructed wetland was provided with ued. This 10 day operation is termed as one run. Thus the entire
a collection container (CC) in which the treated water exiting from experiment was consisted of 5 runs in other words during the total
CWs was collected (Fig. 2). experimental period of 50 days, the greywater replacement was
done 5 times of 10 days interval. However the plants in the planted
2.5. System operation CWs were allowed to remain for the entire period of 50 days.
For each CWs, 55 l of greywater was used (35 l in CWs and 20 l
The experiment was conducted in a subsurface flow (SSF) mode in the collection container). Flexible silicon tubes connected to the
in which the level of greywater was maintained just below the sur- automatic peristaltic pump delivered the greywater from the col-
face of the gravel bed. The CWs with and without plants were filled lection container to the respective constructed wetlands through
initially with tap water up to the sub-surface level and were circu- the inlet pipe at a flow rate of 75 ml/min (Fig. 3). Samples were
lated using a peristaltic pump (PP 20 Ex 4C, Miclins, India) for 25 collected from the outlet pipe on the 2nd, 5th, 7th and 10th days
days as a preconditioning step. After the preconditioning period of and analyzed for various parameters as per standard methods [23].
25 days the tapwater present in the CWs was completely drained On the eve of each sampling day, distilled water was added into
out from all the CWs. Now the experiment with greywater was each CW, up to the mark, in order to make-up the water loss due to
started by filling all the CWs with greywater and the treatment of evapo-transpiration. At the termination of the experiment, plants
greywater in the CWs was thus initiated. The greywater was circu- were removed from the CWs, washed thoroughly with tap water
lated in the CWs at a flow rate of 75 ml/min by using a peristaltic and then with distilled water, total number and mass (dry weight)
pump. This was continued for 10 days, at the end of 10th day the of the plants were also recorded.

Fig. 2. Experimental set-up showing the planted CWs. Fig. 3. Schematic layout plan of the experimental set up.
156 V. Arunbabu et al. / Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160

Table 2
Characteristics of synthetic greywater used for the experiment.

Parameters 1st Run 2nd Run 3rd Run 4th Run 5th Run Average

pH 6.75 6.64 6.72 6.65 6.79 6.71 ± 0.06

Electrical conductivity (␮S/cm) 384 367 377 391 378 379.4 ± 8.91
Total dissolved solids (mg/l) 192 184 189 196 189 190 ± 4.42
Turbidity (NTU) 22.63 20.18 21.22 25.63 24.95 22.92 ± 2.34
Nitrate–nitrogen (mg/l) 5.14 4.98 5.05 5.10 5.07 5.07 ± 0.06
Phosphate–phosphorus (mg/l) 5.15 5.05 4.94 5.17 5.10 5.08 ± 0.09
Anionic surfactants (mg/l) na na 46.6 44.2 48.7 46.50 ± 2.25
COD (mgO2 /l) 445.38 425.76 463.60 480.38 484.22 459.87 ± 24.50

na: Not analysed.

Table 3
Characteristics of the wastewater before and after treatment.

Parameters Values before treatmenta Values after treatmenta Reduction (%)a

Planted Control Planted Control

pH 6.71 ± 0.06 6.87 ± 0.33 6.93 ± 0.17 ++ ++

Electrical conductivity (␮S/cm) 379.40 ± 8.91 327 ± 23.06 372.2 ± 9.86 13.81 1.90
Total dissolved solids (mg/l) 190.00 ± 4.42 163.5 ± 11.53 186.1 ± 4.93 13.95 2.05
Turbidity (NTU) 22.92 ± 2.34 1.66 ± 0.66 5.07 ± 0.63 92.76 77.88
COD (mgO2 /l) 459.87 ± 24.50 21.22 ± 6.46 68.68 ± 11.64 95.39 85.07
Nitrate–nitrogen (mg/l) 5.07 ± 0.06 0.11 ± 0.05 0.28 ± 0.09 97.83 94.48
Phosphate–phosphorus (mg/l) 5.08 ± 0.09 1.67 ± 0.39 2.10 ± 0.26 67.15 58.61
Anionic surfactants (mg/l) 46.50 ± 2.25 2.44 ± 1.78 6.7 ± 2.34 94.75 85.59

++ pH has increased ∼2.5%.

a
Average of five runs.

3. Results and discussion filtration mechanisms of constructed wetlands effectively remove

the particles of organic and inorganic matter and at the same time
The characteristics of the untreated greywater used in the study reduce turbidity [25].
are presented in Table 2. The performance of the CWs was assessed
in terms of various parameters and the results are presented
accordingly. 3.2. COD reduction
The pH of the effluent coming out of the CWs planted with
A. compressus varied between 6.54 and 7.2 and in the control it The influent wastewater had an average COD of 460 mg O2 /l, this
varied between 6.76 and 7.1 (Table 3) which is optimum for bac- was reduced to 21 mg O2 /l by the planted CWs and 69 mg O2 /l by the
terial growth and activities [24]. A steady decrease in electrical control (Table 3). More than 80% reduction in COD was noticed in all
conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) was observed the CWs and the planted CWs have performed significantly better
from the first day to the 10th day of each run. It was also observed than the control. It was evident that the removal of COD increases
that the percentage reduction of EC and TDS increases from 1st with time and a major part of the COD removal was observed within
run to the 5th run. Towards the 10th day of 5th run the planted 5 days of each run (Fig. 5). The overall results of the study shows
CWs showed an average 19.18% reduction in EC, while the control that the systems planted with A. compressus removed an average
showed only 4.23% reduction. The reduction in EC and TDS was of 95.4% COD, whereas in the case of control the average removal
due to the removal of ions from the wastewater. The better per- of COD was 85% only. The results show that the systems with A.
formance of the planted CWs as compared to the control could be compressus performed well with 7.6–11.8% of higher COD removal
attributed to the plants, their root system and associated microbes than the unplanted control. Similar observations of planted wet-
which together contributed to the removal of anions and cations lands with better removal of COD over the control wetlands have
from the wastewater. been reported [16–18]. Akratos and Tsihrintzis [19] reported signif-
icantly higher removal of COD and BOD in beds with cattail (Typha
latifolia) compared to unplanted beds, whereas beds planted with
3.1. Turbidity reduction common reed (Phragmites australis) did not show a higher removal
than unplanted beds. Tanner et al. [26] suggests that plants can play
It was observed that more than 50% reduction in turbidity takes a significant role in the removal of COD, however the effect of plants
place within 2nd day of the experiment (Fig. 4). CWs planted with is usually less depending on species.
A. compressus exhibited significantly higher reduction in turbid- Aerobic and anaerobic microbial processes as well as the sedi-
ity than the control. The initial turbidity of 22.92 ± 2.34 (NTU) was mentation and filtration of particulate organic matter are the major
reduced to 1.66 ± 0.66 (NTU) in planted CWs, whereas in the case factors responsible for the reduction of COD during the greywa-
of control it was 5.07 ± 0.63 (Table 3). The planted wetlands show ter treatment in horizontal sub-surface flow CWs [27–29]. The
an average of 93% of turbidity removal where as in the control, microorganisms get immobilised on the surface of the gravel media
the removal of turbidity was only 78%. Turbidity reductions in as well as on the root system of plants by forming biofilms, which
constructed wetlands occur mostly through physical mechanisms, act efficiently in scavenging contaminants including the organics
such as filtration and sedimentation. Densely vegetated wetland from wastewater which reflect in reduction in COD of the grey-
systems facilitate the settling of suspended matter through physical water sampled from the outlet of CWs [30]. There are different
filtering and stabilizing the settled sediments. Sedimentation and opinions about the role of plants in the removal of organics in
 V. Arunbabu et al. / Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160 157

100 100
Planted Control
90 90

Reduction in Turbidity (%)

80 80

70 70

st st
60 1 run 60 1 run
nd nd
2 run 2 run
rd rd
50 3 run 50 3 run
th th
4 run 4 run
th th
40 5 run 40 5 run

30 30
2 4 6 8 10 2 4 6 8 10
Number of days Number of days
Fig. 4. Turbidity reduction (%) as recorded with the planted and control (without plants) CWs at different runs of the experiment.

100 100
Planted Control

90 90
Reduction in COD (%)

80 80

70 70
st st
1 run 1 run
60 nd 60 nd
2 run 2 run
rd rd
3 run 3 run
50 th
4 run 50 th
4 run
th th
5 run 5 run
40 40

2 4 6 8 10 2 4 6 8 10
Number of days Number of days
Fig. 5. COD reduction (%) as recorded with the planted and control (without plants) CWs at different runs of the experiment.

constructed wetlands. Vymazal and Kröpfelová [29] reviewed the 3.3. Nutrient removal
performance of more than 400 horizontal flow constructed wet-
lands from 36 countries treating different wastewater and reported The nutrient removal efficiencies of the CWs were assessed on
a positive effect of macrophytes on organics removal in most of the the basis of the percentage reduction of the nutrients from the
studies. Münch et al. [30] reported that plants in constructed wet- effluent coming out of the CWs. Among the two nutrients studied,
lands serve as carriers for attached microbial growth. Plants in CWs removal of NO3 − –N was better than PO4 3− –P removal in all the sys-
mainly transfer oxygen and release exudates through the roots into tems including the control. Better nutrient removals were observed
the root zone. As a consequence of this an area around the roots, with the planted CWs than the unplanted CW (control) in all the
called the rhizosphere, facilitate growth and survival of diverse runs of the experiment. Based on the average values the differ-
group of microorganisms by providing a conducive environment ence in NO3 − –N removal between the planted and unplanted CWs
with enriched oxygen content to the microorganisms. The plant rhi- ranged from 1.7% to 4.9% and the difference in PO4 3− –P removal
zosphere was reported to stimulate microbial community density ranged from 5.2% to 11.5%, respectively (Table 3).
and activity by providing root surface for microbial attachment and
growth, a source of organic content, nutrients and a micro-aerobic
3.3.1. Removal of NO3 − –N
environment via root oxygen release. The root zone or rhizosphere
The removal of nitrogen from the effluent was excellent and
is said to be the active reaction zone of constructed wetlands where
the CWs planted with A. compressus have performed with bet-
physicochemical and biological processes take place, induced by
ter removal of NO3 − –N in all the 5 runs of the experiment than
the interaction of plants, microorganisms, the soil and pollutants
the unplanted control. The NO3 − –N was reduced to 0.11 mg/l in
[31].
the planted CWs and 0.28 mg/l in the control by the end of the
158 V. Arunbabu et al. / Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160

100 100
Planted Control
95 95

90 90

Reduction in NO3 -N (%)

85 85
-
80 st
80 st
1 run 1 run
nd nd
75 2 run 75 2 run
rd rd
3 run 3 run
th th
70 4 run 70 4 run
th th
5 run 5 run
65 65

2 4 6 8 10 2 4 6 8 10
Number of days Number of days
Fig. 6. NO3 − –N reduction (%) as recorded with the planted and control (without plants) CWs at different runs of the experiment.

treatment (Table 3). From the results it could be observed that 3.4. Anionic surfactants
the majority of the NO3 − –N removal occurred within the 2nd
day of each run in all the CWs (Fig. 6). The overall results of the In the present study anionic surfactant reduction was deter-
study shows that the systems planted with A. compressus removed mined from the 3rd run onwards (Fig. 8). Good removal of anionic
1.7–4.9% more NO3 − –N from the system than the control. The aver- surfactant was observed in each run and the majority of the sur-
age removal of NO3 − –N for the planted systems was 98% and for factant reduction was observed within the first 5 days of each run.
the control it was 94%. Nitrate-nitrogen can be reduced by den- CWs planted with A. compressus shows about an average of 95% of
itrification, plant uptake and conversion to bacteria cell [16,32]. surfactant removal whereas in the control, the removal of anionic
Prevailing anoxic and anaerobic conditions within the system offer surfactant was only 85%.
suitable conditions for denitrification in CWs. Degradation of surfactants through microbial activity is the
primary transformation occurring in the environment. Anionic sur-
factants are readily biodegradable under aerobic conditions as
opposed to anaerobic conditions, at which they are unlikely to be
3.3.2. Removal of PO4 3− –P degraded [36]. Leal et al. [37] observed 97% removal of anionic sur-
The constructed wetlands planted with A. compressus have per- factants in an aerobic greywater treatment system compared to
formed with better removal of PO4 3− –P in all the 5 runs of the 27% removal in an anaerobic treatment system. Chemical structure
experiment than the control. The peak removal of PO4 3− –P was and physio-chemical conditions of the environmental media are
observed within the first 5 days of the experiment (Fig. 7). The other factors which affect the biodegradation of surfactants in the
overall results of the study shows that the systems planted with environment [36].
A. compressus removed 5.2–11.5% more PO4 3− –P from the system
than the control. The maximum removal of PO4 3− –P was observed
in the 5th run of the experiment, in which the average removal for 3.5. Plant biomass and number
A. compressus was 75% and for the unplanted system (control) the
removal was 65%. The plants survived well during the experiment and showed an
Subsurface flow CWs has a greater potential to remove nitrogen increase in phytomass (53%) and number (17%) at the end of the
than phosphorus [33]. Brix et al. [34] reported that sorption of phos- experiment. Apart from the number and phytomass increase, sig-
phorus to the bed material was the major removal mechanism for nificant development of the root system was also noticed (Fig. 9).
phosphorus in subsurface flow CWs followed by incorporation into This indicates that A. compressus can be employed as a good bioa-
organisms (biofilms and plants). The phosphorus may be bound gent for the treatment of greywater in constructed wetlands.
to the substrate as a consequence of adsorption and precipitation
reactions with calcium, aluminium and iron in the gravel substrate. 3.7. Greywater treatment – future perspectives
The phosphorus removal efficiency of constructed wetlands can be
enhanced by incorporating a medium with high P-binding capac- One way to address the present day water crisis is to treat and
ity or by establishing a separate filter unit containing a material reuse greywater. The primary objective of greywater treatment
with a high P-binding capacity such as calcite [34,35]. The bet- and reuse is to reduce the demand on freshwater and to prevent
ter removal of phosphorus in the planted systems observed in water pollution due to the discharge of untreated wastewater. Use
the present study could be attributed to plant uptake and micro- of advanced treatment technologies are not sustainable in devel-
bial assimilation. The main role of plants with respect to removal oping countries as a result of high capital investment, requirement
of phosphorus is in the direct uptake and provision of suitable of consistent power supply and skilled labor, high operation and
conditions for microorganisms that use phosphorus as a nutrient maintenance costs. Hence it is better to promote simple and cost
[17]. effective technologies like constructed wetlands which can also
 V. Arunbabu et al. / Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160 159

80 80
Planted Control

70 70

Reduction in PO4 -P (%)

60 60

3-
50 50

40 40
st st
1 run 1 run
nd nd
30 2 run 30 2 run
rd rd
3 run 3 run
th th
4 run 4 run
20 th 20 th
5 run 5 run
2 4 6 8 10 2 4 6 8 10
Number of days Number of days
Fig. 7. PO4 3− –P reduction (%) as recorded with the planted and control (without plants) CWs at different runs of the experiment.

Planted Control
100 100
Reduction in Anionic Surfactants (%)

90 90

80 80

70 70
rd rd
3 run 3 run
60 th
4 run 60 th
4 run
th th
5 run 5 run
50 50

40 40

2 4 6 8 10 2 4 6 8 10
Number of days Number of days
Fig. 8. Anionic surfactant reduction (%) as recorded with the planted and control (without plants) wetlands at different runs of the experiment.

Fig. 9. A. Compressus plants before (a) and after (b) the greywater treatment in the CWs.
160 V. Arunbabu et al. / Journal of Water Process Engineering 7 (2015) 153–160

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