Elimination of micropollutants in four test-scale constructed wetlands treating combined sewer overflow: Influence of filtration layer height and feeding regime

Abstract Municipal wastewater can contain large amounts of organic micropollutants. Some of these substances are harmful to the environment, even at low concentrations, e.g. when being discharged untreated into surface water bodies in case of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) during or after heavy rainfall events. Constructed wetlands can be very effective in treating CSOs. To date, there have only been few investigations about the retention of micropollutants using retention soil filters (RSFs), which basically are vertical flow constructed wetlands with an additional retention area. Thus, focus of this study was set on the interaction between dry periods, loading events, filter operation time, and the resulting removal of micropollutants originating from CSOs. The removal of 1-H-benzotriazole, carbamazepine, diclofenac, metoprolol, sulfamethoxazole and bisphenol A was examined in four test-scale RSFs. Removal efficiencies of approximately 70% were found for metoprolol. 1-H-benzotriazole, diclofenac and bisphenol A were removed moderately between 30 and 40%. For carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole, negative retention rates were found. No significant correlations were found between removal efficiencies and the length of the antecedent dry period and/or filter operation time. However, the study showed that removal efficiencies depend strongly on respective inflow concentrations. Thickness of the filter layer seems to have an influence as well, does not lead to uniform results, though.