1887

Abstract

Background: Water management is a key focus area globally, and especially for the state of Qatar given its extremely arid environment. As such, research to develop technologies to enhance beneficial re-use of treated industrial waste water is recognized as a key challenge in this region. As a part of the Water Re-Use Research Program at ExxonMobil Research Qatar, a model was developed in collaboration with Simon Fraser University (Canada) for predicting the environmental fate of contaminants in constructed wetlands. Objective: This work will aid in design and monitoring of engineered wetlands to support water reuse applications. Methods: This model provides a method to estimate the extent to which contaminants of various kinds can be expected to be removed from wetlands through a combination of transformation and transport processes under various environmental conditions and wetland characteristics. The model was constructed to represent steady-state conditions and is based on conservation of mass principles. The model was developed for the use of Type I and Type II chemicals. Type I chemicals include organic substances and Type II chemicals include trace metals and inorganic substances .The model combines calculations for (i) environmental distribution of contaminants in aquatic systems; (ii) uptake, translocation and biotransformation of contaminants in vegetation; (iii) bioaccumulation in aquatic biota of wetlands; and (iv) toxicity in aquatic biota. Model inputs include wetland characteristics (e.g. compartment volumes, dimensions, organic carbon content, biotic growth rates); environmental conditions (e.g. Inflow& temperature); contaminant properties (e.g. molecular weight, degradation half-lives). The model outputs include predicted concentrations in various wetland compartments and mass balance inventory characterizing mass distribution and various loss processes. Results: Application of the model was tested for pyrene, arsenic and a naphthenic acid. The results show distinct differences in the predicted ability of wetlands to remove these contaminants from waste water. Conclusion: The evaluative model presented in this study provides useful insights that can guide further studies for designing and monitoring the effectiveness of engineered wetlands for wastewater reclamation purposes.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/papers/10.5339/qfarc.2014.EEPP0099
2014-11-18
2024-11-22
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/papers/10.5339/qfarc.2014.EEPP0099
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error