Use of Activated Charcoal to Enhance Constructed Wetland Performance in Wastewater Treatment

Constructed wetlands offer a sustainable wastewater treatment solution with proven, effective technology. Activated charcoal, derived from organic material through pyrolysis, offers simple and low cost techniques to treat water and reduce carbon footprint. Combining both of these technologies can greatly augment the efficiency of the system. This study investigates the enhancement of constructed wetlands by combining sand with activated carbon to improve pollutant removal efficiency. Vertical wetland beds were prepared using sand mixed with activated charcoal and cultivated with Phragmites australis species. Synthetic wastewater was passed through these beds achieving a retention time of three days. Pollutant removal performance was compared between the controlled and experimental wetland beds. According to this study, the wetland with 10% activated charcoal was more effective than the wetland with sand alone, removing an average of total suspended solids (TSS) at 88.44%, chemical oxygen demand (COD) at 86.39%, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) at 89.02%, ammonium (NH₄⁺) at 95.71%, nitrate (NO₃⁻) at 35.75%, and phosphate (PO₄³⁻) at 80.38%. The study shows that the integration of activated charcoal into the CW plant enhances the performances of the wastewater treatment system.