Treatment of Wastewater from Kitchen in an Institution Hostel Mess using Constructed Wetland

Wetlands are land areas that are wet during part or all of the year. Constructed wetlands are man-made systems that mimic the functions of natural wetlands applied for wastewater treatment. The aim of this research is to investigate the feasibility of using a constructed wetland for treatment of kitchen waste water from hostel mess. The wetland plant species grown in the constructed wetland is Phragmites australis. The sampling took place monthly for a period of six months at both inlet and outlet. The parameters analyzed are Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Phosphorus (TP), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Hydrogen Ion Concentration (pH.) The concentrations of TSS, TDS, TN, TP, BOD, and COD in the influent when the student strength was high increased by 29%, 32%, 361%, 699%, 21%, and 51%, respectively, as compared to low student strength case and decreased by 25%, 10%, 276%, 292%, 27%, and 53%, respectively, during rainfall periods. The integrated constructed wetland system reduces the concentrations of TSS, TDS, TN, TP, BOD, and COD by 41%, 4%, 76%, 77%, 75% and 36%, respectively, on an average.