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REMOVAL OF HEAVY METALS BY ARTIFICIAL WETLANDS
Citation:
Gersberg, R., S. Lyon, B. Elkins, AND C. Goldman. REMOVAL OF HEAVY METALS BY ARTIFICIAL WETLANDS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/D-84/258.
Description:
Artificial wetlands have been operated successfully for treatment of municipal wastewater for a number of years at several locations in this country. However, the capability of these systems to treat heavy metal laden municipal wastewater had not previously been investigated. The artificial wetland system at Santee, California which is normally used for polishing secondary municipal wastewater was evaluated for treatment of cadmium, zinc and copper. These metals were added to the influent waste stream in high concentrations during a one-year study and wetland effluent was tested to determine their removal efficiency. Their removal efficiency ranged from an average of 97 percent for zinc to over 99 percent for the two other metals.