The issue of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in the environment, notably the aquatic compartment, has been a growing area in environmental chemistry for several years (Henschel, 1997; Jones et al., 2001; Matamoros et al., 2005; Matamoros et al., 2008). A characteristic of pharmaceuticals is that they do not need to be persistent in the environment to cause negative effects. This is because their high transformation and removal rates can be offset by their continuous release into the environment. Even though paracetamol, a analgesic used worldwide , is readily biologically degradable, it is present in the effluent of mechanical biological WWTPs to the order of several hundreds of nanograms (Jones et al. 2007). Little research has been carried out on the removal of paracetamol. This study reports on the results of experimental tests carried out in three pilot Horizontal Subsurface Constructed Wetlands (HSSCWs) built near Lecce (Southern Italy). A 60 days-injection experiment was conducted in these three HSSCWs fed with different hydraulic loading rates and planted with Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of paracetamol removal in HSSCWs planted with two different macrophytes in semiarid conditions, such as Southern Italy. The specific objectives of the experimental investigation were to assess the influence of hydraulics on system efficiency taking into account evapotranspiration phenomenon and to compare the performances of macrophytes species with that of the substrate.

Influence of hydraulic parameters on Paracetamol removal in subsurface constructed wetlands

VERLICCHI, Paola;
2009

Abstract

The issue of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in the environment, notably the aquatic compartment, has been a growing area in environmental chemistry for several years (Henschel, 1997; Jones et al., 2001; Matamoros et al., 2005; Matamoros et al., 2008). A characteristic of pharmaceuticals is that they do not need to be persistent in the environment to cause negative effects. This is because their high transformation and removal rates can be offset by their continuous release into the environment. Even though paracetamol, a analgesic used worldwide , is readily biologically degradable, it is present in the effluent of mechanical biological WWTPs to the order of several hundreds of nanograms (Jones et al. 2007). Little research has been carried out on the removal of paracetamol. This study reports on the results of experimental tests carried out in three pilot Horizontal Subsurface Constructed Wetlands (HSSCWs) built near Lecce (Southern Italy). A 60 days-injection experiment was conducted in these three HSSCWs fed with different hydraulic loading rates and planted with Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of paracetamol removal in HSSCWs planted with two different macrophytes in semiarid conditions, such as Southern Italy. The specific objectives of the experimental investigation were to assess the influence of hydraulics on system efficiency taking into account evapotranspiration phenomenon and to compare the performances of macrophytes species with that of the substrate.
2009
9788469255872
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11392/1378338
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