Effect of Media on Constructed Wetlands Performance with Equisetum hyemale

Abstract

The objective of this study is to find the effect of the media on constructed wetlands capacity with Equisetum hyemale to remove chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phosphate (PO₄^3-) in laundry wastewater. Four reactors of constructed wetlands made of the plastic container were used. Three units of reactors used different media that had different diameter media for each, which were sand (SM), expanded clay (CM) and gravel (GM) while the fourth reactor was used without using the media as a control. The environmental parameters and performance of constructed wetlands were monitored every day until the fifth day of the experiment. The results showed that there was a difference of COD and PO₄^3- removal capacity between the control reactor and the reactors with media. The best performance was seen in SM, CM, and GM reactors. COD and PO₄^3- removal efficiency in SM reactor was up to 96.06% and 97.07%; in CM reactor was up to 86.32% and 95.69%; and GM reactor was up to 84.36% and 77.23%. These results showed that the constructed wetlands performance with Equisetum hyemale was affected by the presence of media.