Cited by 176Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater TreatmentWastewater Treatment and ReuseUrban Stormwater Management Solutions

Application of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in tropical and subtropical regions (2000–2013)

Open access
Zhang, Dong-Qing, Jinadasa, K.B.S.N., Gersberg, Richard M., Liu, Yu, Tan, Soon Keat, Ng, Wun Jern·2015·Journal of Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been successfully used for treating various wastewaters for decades and have been identified as a sustainable wastewater management option for developing countries. With the goal of promoting sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being but are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems, the application of CWs has become more relevant. Such application is especially significant for developing countries with tropical climates, which are very conducive to higher biological activity and productivity, resulting in higher treatment efficiencies compared to those in temperate climates. This paper therefore highlights the practice, applications, and research of treatment wetlands under tropical and subtropical conditions since 2000. In the present review, removal of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solid (TSS) was shown to be very efficient and consistent across all types of treatment wetlands. Hybrid systems appeared more efficient in the removal of total suspended solid (TSS) (91.3%), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (84.3%), and nitrogen (i.e., 80.7% for ammonium (NH)4-N, 80.8% for nitrate (NO)3-N, and 75.4% for total nitrogen (TN)) as compared to other wetland systems. Vertical subsurface flow (VSSF) CWs removed TSS (84.9%), BOD (87.6%), and nitrogen (i.e., 66.2% for NH4-N, 73.3% for NO3-N, and 53.3% for TN) more efficiently than horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) CWs, while HSSF CWs (69.8%) showed better total phosphorus (TP) removal compared to VSSF CWs (60.1%). Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) showed comparable removal efficiencies for BOD (70.7%), NH4-N (63.6%), and TP (44.8%) to free water surface (FWS) CW systems.

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  • Artificial wetlands are an additional option for urban wastewater treatment, but the risk of harboring disease vectors must be mitigated.

    “Artificial wetlands are an additional option for urban wastewater treatment [223,224] however, just with other open stagnant water bodies the risk of harboring disease vectors must be mitigated.”

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3 of the 95 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Faulkner, S.P., Richardson, C.J., 1989. Physical and chemical characteristics of freshwater wetland soils. In: Hammer, D.A. (Ed.), Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment. Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, Michigan, pp. 41-72.
  2. Haberl, R., Perfler, R., Mayer, H., 1995. Constructed wetland in Europe. Water Sci. Technol. 32 (3), 305-315.
  3. Kadlec, R.H., Knight, R.L., 1996. Treatment Wetlands. CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
  4. Kadlec, R.H., Wallace, S., 2008. Treatment Wetlands. 2nd ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
  5. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Concepts of Ecosystem Value and Valuation Approaches. Island Press, Washington, DC.
  6. Mitsch, W.J., Gosselink, J.G., 2007. Wetlands. 4th ed. Wiley, Hoboken.
  7. Tanaka, N., Jinadasa, K.B.S.N., Werellagama, D.R.I.B., Mowjood, M.I.M., Ng, W.J., 2013. Constructed tropical wetlands with integrated submergent-emergent plants for sustainable water quality management. J. Environ. Sci. Health A 41 (10), 2221-2236.

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Authors
Zhang, D.-Q., Jinadasa, K. B. S. N., Gersberg, R. M., Liu, Y., Tan, S. K., & Ng, W. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Peradeniya (LK)
  • San Diego State University (US)
  • Nanyang Technological University (SG)
Venue
Journal of Environmental Sciences
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-04
Volume
30
Pages
30-46
ISSN
1001-0742 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2043284519
Cited by
176
References
95
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 2
FWCI
1.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Environmental Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DR-NTU (Nanyang Technological University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Stormwater Management Solutions
Keywords
constructed wetlands, wastewater treatment, tropical and subtropical climates, hybrid constructed wetlands, vertical subsurface flow, horizontal subsurface flow, floating treatment wetlands, free water surface wetlands, BOD removal, total suspended solids, nitrogen removal, phosphorus removal, developing countries
MeSH terms
Biodegradation, Environmental, Tropical Climate, Waste Disposal, Fluid, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Water Purification, Wetlands

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