Use of two plants to remove pollutants in wastewater in constructed wetlands in southern Iraq
Afrah Abid Maktoof, Majida S. Al-Enazi
Abstract
Industrialization, urbanization and population are the most important reasons for pollution in Iraq, these factors have decreased the quality of water resources. Evaluating the treatment of polluted water (sewage) in nontraditional ways and assessing consumption in the agriculture sector are the main purposes of this study. Two Plants were used in the current study Schoenoplectus litoralis and Hordeum vulgare to remove heavy metals and nutrients, making this technique effective in pollution control. Samples were collected from the storage terminal of the wastewater station in Al-Nassiriya (Indian station), Physicochemical analysis of both sewage and tap water was performed for following parameters; Ion Hydrogen (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Carbon Dioxide CO2, Magnesium (Mg2+), Calcium (Ca2+), Sodium (Na+), total hardness, alkalinity, Chloride (Cl−), sulphates (SO42−), phosphates (PO43−), nitrates (NO3−), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) were evaluated. Moreover, four trace metals [Lead (Pb+2), Nickel (Ni+2), Copper (Cu+2) and Cadmium (Cd+2)] and the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) were evaluated. The plants varied in their responses to metals. This study revealed that plants have a high heavy metal removal capacity.