This study deals with the dairy wastewater treatment using laboratory scale vertical flow (VF) constructed wetlands with the <i>Canna indica</i> plantation over wetland beds due to phytoremediation capabilities. Three laboratory scale VF CWs (CW-A, CW-B and CW-C) each with an area of 0.135 m2 filled with gravel (CW-A: 20 mm; CW-B:10 mm gravel) and sand (CW-C) receiving 0.04 m3 d-1 dairy wastewater were operated for the wastewater purification. Each unit was operated at three hydraulic retention times (HRTs) i.e. 12 h, 24 h and 48 h for assessing its effect on wastewater purification . Among all units, removal rates fluctuated as: total suspended solids (TSS): 64.2–74.5%; biochemical oxygen demand (BOD): 45.3 – 63.1%; ammonium nitrogen (NH4–N): 29.6 – 56.5% and phosphate phosphorous (PO4–P): 20.5 – 57.8% at different HRTs. Increase in HRT showed better removal of pollutants in all CWs. Moreover, maximum removal of pollutants excluding TSS and NH4-N was achieved in CW-B at 48 h HRT. CW-B with similar HRT provided maximum removal of PO4-P (57.8%), BOD (63.1%) and chemical oxygen demand (COD): 67.4%. Increase in the size of filter media, from sand (0.25 mm) to 20 mm gravel resulted in higher removal of NH4 -N from wastewater.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.