<i>Heliconia stricta</i> Huber Behavior on Hybrid Constructed Wetlands Fed with Synthetic Domestic Wastewater
Cristina E. Almeida-Naranjo | Gabriela Guachamín | Víctor H. Guerrero | Cristina-Alejandra Villamar
Constructed wetlands (CWs) represent a highly efficient, eco-friendly and economic alternative for wastewater treatment in decentralized contexts. The adequate selection of the plants used in CWs plays a decisive role in the successful implementation and operation of this technology type. In this work, we studied the behavior of a native tropical plant (<i>Heliconia stricta</i> Huber) for the removal of organic matter and nutrients within a hybrid CW system fed with synthetic domestic wastewater. This hybrid system was composed of two wetlands, a vertical surface flow (VSF-CW) and a horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF-CW), connected in series and being operated with nominal hydraulic loading rates of 12 and 9 mm day<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. Results evidenced nitrification (nitrite concentration increased up to three times) but not denitrification because nitrate concentration increased in the final effluent. The average removal efficiencies were 86.8%, 96.4%, and 57.0%, for COD, NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and PO<sub>4</sub><sup>3−</sup>, respectively. On the other hand, the apical height, basal diameter, leaf length and width increased in relation to initial measurements (between 0.6–7.1%) in plants of both CWs, which demonstrated the ability of the plants to adapt to the operating conditions of the system. This promising performance observed when using <i>Heliconia stricta</i> Huber opens the need for further research and could be particularly interesting in CWs used in tropical areas.
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