Water scarcity and pollution represent key challenges which life on earth will have to face, considering the rapid population growth, and our water intensive societies, and global economy. On-site greywater treatment and reuse constitute ecologically and economically worthwhile solutions to counteract water scarcity and intelligently manage water resources.
Several modular living green wall prototypes were developed, which aim to remove man-made water pollution through a biotechnological approach similar to constructed wetlands. These designs however require far less valuable land by using a vertical, facade integrated design instead. The treatment units differed in terms of substrate and plant species compositions, as well as in their designated water-flow paths: i) vertical channels ii) cascading with 1° declining slope iii) cascading with 5° ascent angle.
Artificial greywater was introduced into these systems and effluents were analyzed regarding standard water quality parameters and nutrient contents. For all parameters except PO43-, no significant differences between the individual planted units were observed (p=0.05). Maximum removal rates were 28%, 28%, 29%, 40%, 88%, 37%, 51%, and 57% for BOD5, COD, DOC, NH4-N, PO43-, TOC, TSS, and turbidity, respectively. An in groups comparison of the channelized and cascading units revealed a significant difference in treatment performance in favor of the channelized units for the parameters BOD5 and PO43-. Shoot supporting structures, which were applied to the channelized systems, seemed to be the decisive structural element, as they promoted plant health and rhizosphere development.
Further investigations aimed to explore, if regulatory EU wastewater effluent quality standards can be met with a series of consecutive treatment units. With 19 mg/L and 93 mg/L, the effluent TSS and COD concentrations after five runs were below the thresholds.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Acknowledgements
- Abstract
- Zusammenfassung
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Greywater treatment and reuse
- Living green walls
- Living green walls for greywater treatment
- Materials and methods
- Design and development of the living green wall
- Experimental setup and monitoring
- Greywater characteristics
- Water quality analysis
- Statistical analysis
- Results
- Water quality parameters
- Treatment efficiency
- Plant growth and development
- Discussion
- Performance of the living green wall
- Comparison with other greywater treatment systems
- Environmental and social implications
- Conclusions and recommendations
- References
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This thesis explores the design, development, and performance of a living green wall for the treatment of greywater. The aim is to assess the effectiveness of this novel system for reducing pollutants and improving water quality while providing aesthetic and environmental benefits.
- Greywater treatment and reuse
- Living green walls and their potential applications
- Performance and efficiency of living green walls for greywater treatment
- Environmental and social impacts of the technology
- Future research directions and potential for scaling up the system
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the research topic, highlighting the growing need for sustainable water management practices and the potential of living green walls for greywater treatment.
- Literature review: This chapter reviews existing literature on greywater treatment, living green walls, and their combined application. It presents various technologies and discusses their advantages and limitations.
- Materials and methods: This chapter describes the design and construction of the living green wall, the experimental setup for monitoring its performance, and the methods used for water quality analysis and statistical analysis.
- Results: This chapter presents the results of the experimental study, including water quality data, treatment efficiency, and plant growth observations.
- Discussion: This chapter analyzes the findings of the study, comparing the performance of the living green wall to other greywater treatment systems and discussing its environmental and social implications.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Greywater, living green wall, water treatment, water quality, phytoremediation, sustainability, urban agriculture, environmental benefits, ecological sanitation.
- Citation du texte
- Gianluca Vassallo (Auteur), 2018, Design and Development of a Living Green Wall for Greywater Treatment, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1334351
