Laboratory analysis of a system for catchment, pre-treatment and treatment (SCPT) of runoff from impervious pavements.

This article reports the development and construction of a 1:1 scale laboratory prototype of a System for Catchment, Pre-treatment and Treatment (SCPT) of runoff polluted by contaminants washed from impervious pavements. The concept of the SCPT is an online system with an up-flow filter. The filter is composed of geotextile layers and limestone. The laboratory tests carried out were focused on determining the SCPT prototype behaviour under different working conditions. The variables studied were: inflow, pollutant loads and filtration system configuration. The results show that the system designed has a high capacity for treatment of solids and oil, with an average efficiency of 85% and 97% respectively. Moreover, the regression equations of the treatment efficiency were determined for each of the pollutants studied, for different inflow conditions and pollution loads.