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Performance of Pilot-scale Constructed Floating Wetlands in the Removal of Nutrients and Pesticides

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Abstract

Aiming to evaluate the efficacy of constructed floating wetlands (CFW) in removing agrochemicals (nutrients and pesticides), a series of experiments were run continuously for a 16-week period in pilot-scale CFW systems to study the effect of two aquatic plant species (duckweed and water hyacinth) and climatic parameters. The CFW systems were loaded daily with agricultural polluted water containing a fertilizer and five pesticides, whose concentrations and removal efficiencies were measured in the experiments. Average nutrient and pesticide reductions varied from 27.4% to 83.6% and from 12.4% to 42.7%, respectively. The two plants performed almost equally well. High temperatures and increased solar radiation significantly contributed to increased removal performance. The results suggest the use of CFW systems as effective and low-cost agricultural pollution control technologies.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out and funded in the context of the project "Investigation of the efficiency of natural treatment systems in the removal of pesticides and fertilizers" (MIS 5049184) under the call for proposals "Researchers' support with an emphasis on young researchers - 2nd Cycle". The project is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Programme Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020.

Funding

The study was funded in the context of the project "Investigation of the efficiency of natural treatment systems in the removal of pesticides and fertilizers" (MIS 5049184) under the call for proposals "Researchers' support with an emphasis on young researchers - 2nd Cycle". The project is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Program Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Assessment of Natural Hazards and Proactive Planning & Laboratory of Reclamation Works and Water Resources Management, School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Iroon Polytechniou St, 15780, Zografou, Athens, Greece

    George Pavlidis, Ioanna Zotou, Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis & Ioannis Nalbantis

  2. Laboratory of Chemical Control of Pesticides, Department of Pesticides Control and Phytopharmacy, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 Stef. Delta St, 14561, Athens, Kifissia, Greece

    Helen Karasali & Anna Marousopoulou

  3. Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Georgios Bariamis

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  1. George Pavlidis
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  2. Ioanna Zotou
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  3. Helen Karasali
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  4. Anna Marousopoulou
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  6. Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis
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Contributions

G. Pavlidis: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft; I. Zotou: Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft; H. Karasali: Resources, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing - Review & Editing; A. Marousopoulou: Data curation, Writing - Review & Editing; G. Bariamis: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - Review & Editing; V.A. Tsihrintzis: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing - Review & Editing; I. Nalbantis: Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing - Review & Editing.

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Correspondence to Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis.

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Highlights

• The pollution abatement efficiency of constructed floating wetlands is tested

• The effect of lemna and hyacinth is examined in pilot-scale continuously loaded units

• Average nutrient and pesticide reductions varied from 27.4% to 83.6% and from 12.4% to 42.7%

• Temperature and solar radiation were significant parameters in pollutant removal

• No significant differences were observed in the performance of the two plants

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Pavlidis, G., Zotou, I., Karasali, H. et al. Performance of Pilot-scale Constructed Floating Wetlands in the Removal of Nutrients and Pesticides. Water Resour Manage 36, 399–416 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-021-03033-9

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