Toluene removal and clogging conditions in Horizontal Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands treatment

Constructed wetlands (CWs) can remove Toluene from wastewater. In this paper, the performance of three types of CWs (two of them were planted with two different species of macrophytes –Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia- and the third was used as a control - unplanted) located in the South of Italy was investigated. The objectives of this study are to compare hydraulic behavior of the CWs with the trend of the model by varying the hydraulic conditions, to evaluate the effect of the clogging and then to assess the efficiency of the different species of macrophytes in removing Toluene. At the beginning of the experience and after 24 months, the results show a good correlation in the hydraulic behavior between model and physical data by modifying input parameters as a consequence of the clogging. The Toluene removal from the planted fields is higher than the unplanted one.