Floating Wetlands: A Sustainable Tool for Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Floating treatment wetland (FTW) is an effective and sustainable technology for wastewater treatment. It has been widely adopted for treating various kinds of polluted water including agricultural runoff, stormwater, industrial effluents, etc. In FTWs, plants are vegetated on a floating mat while their roots are extended down to the contaminated water hence acting as biological filters. Nutrients and potentially toxic metal(s)/element(s) are taken up from the wastewater by plants through their roots whereas organic matter is degraded by the microorganisms forming biofilms on the roots and mat surface. Additionally, organic contaminants which are already taken up by the plants are degraded by endophytic bacteria in planta. This article provides an overview of FTWs and their application for wastewater treatment. The key factors which have an impact on the performance of FTWs are also described. Lastly, the potential role of combined use of plants and bacteria in FTWs for the maximum remediation of polluted water is emphasized.

Application of Floating Aquatic Plants in Phytoremediation of Heavy Metals Polluted Water: A Review

“…Conversion of biomass into exclusive material is the significant factor in promoting this technique for the treatment of contaminants. An aquatic plant's biomass can latter on be used as animal feed, useful in the production of biogas and compost as reported in many studies [25]. Bio-sorption along with bioaccumulation of Lemna minor biomass was inspected which indicates its possible use as animal feed [131,334].…”

“…These treatment technologies require high capital investment and in the end, generate the problem of sludge disposal [23]. For the remediation of wastewater polluted with heavy metals contaminants, an environmentally friendly and economical treatment technology is needed [24,25]. The current study illustrates an environment-friendly technique phytoremediation for removal of contaminants on a long term basis.…”

Antioxidant‐assisted coloration of wool with xanthophylls extracted from corn distillers’ dry grain

“…In addition, the environmental impacts of garments with natural dyes extracted from cultivated dye plants could be much larger than those of garments coloured with synthetic dyes [7]. The material costs and environmental impacts could be lowered to a reasonable range if the colourants were obtained as a byproduct [5], such as from zein production by extracting DDGs [25].…”

“…The release of coloured textile effluent into the aquatic ecosystem represents both environmental and public health risks [1,2]. In response to the growing concerns over possible detrimental effects of the synthetic dyes, the interest of using natural dyes in textile coloration has revived in recent years [3][4][5]. However, the production of natural dyes by direct farming results in substantially high cost [6] and leaves a large carbon footprint [7].…”

Dyeing of cotton with the natural dye extracted from waste leaves of green tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)

“…In order to reduce the amount of agricultural waste and convert it into added value products, the research on dye pigments from agricultural waste is of particular interest. One of the biggest sources of agricultural plant waste from the food industry is the leaves of green tea used in beverage production [17]. During the manufacturing process of green tea juice, large amounts of tea leaf waste are produced, providing an abundant source of raw material for producing natural dyes.…”