Performance of pilot Hybrid Reed Bed constructed wetland with aeration system on nutrient removal for domestic wastewater treatment

Abstract A hybrid reed bed constructed wetland (HRBCW) with aeration system was employed in three-stages; a Surface-Flow (SF) system, a Vertical-Flow (VF) system, and lastly a Horizontal-Flow (HF) system in series. The system was planted with Malaysian native aquatic plant (Scirpus grossus) and it was made up of media arranged in three layers of medium gravel ( ϕ 10–15 mm) at the top, river sand ( ϕ 3–5 mm) in the middle, and larger gravel ( ϕ 30–35 mm) in the bottom of the CW. S. grossus could survive and reproduce with a continuous feed of 86.5 L raw wastewater per day. The results indicate that the system with a 3-day HRT achieved an average removal of 84.7 and 71.0% for NH4-N and PO4-P respectively. Based on this study, the use of HRBCW system for treating household sewage in small communities is a technically and economically feasible using S. grossus that has high effectiveness for treating domestic wastewater.