Comparison of Different Types of Media for Nutrient Removal Efficiency in Vertical Upflow Constructed Wetlands

This study investigated the efficiency of two types of media, namely, gravels and sand for their nutrient removal capabilities from wastewater. Different levels of sand depths were also experimented for their removal efficiencies. And for this purpose three laboratory scale vertical upflow constructed wetlands (S1, S2, S3) were established at PHE Laboratory, MNIT, Jaipur. S1was filled with two layers of different size of gravels while S2 and S3 also contained different depths of sand along with the layers of gravels. All the lab scale CWs were fed with the secondary treated water brought from sewage treatment plant, Jaipur. The study was carried out for a period of three months from February to April, 2013. The results show that sand provides better removal of nutrients from wastewater than gravels, though TKN removal was better with gravels. Both sand and gravel were unable to remove NO3-N from the system as there was an increase in NO3-N in the system. But overall it can be concluded that sand provided more efficient treatment than gravels.