SHEFROL® bioreactor enhances the ability of pistia (pistia stratiotes) in the phytoremediation of greywater

ABSTRACT

The efficacy of the well-known phytoremediation plant pistia (Pistia stratiotes), also called water lettuce or water cabbage, in treating sewage (greywater) was tested by its use as the main bioagent in the recently developed and patented ‘sheet flow root level’ (SHEFROL®) bioreactor. In contrast to previously reported systems, based on constructed wetland or stabilisation pond technologies, in which pistia needed wastewater hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 24 h or more in enabling significant treatment of greywater, it achieved similar results in SHEFROL® several times more quickly, at the HRTs of only 4–6 h. Given that HRT directly influences reactor size, hence the system cost, the faster rate of treatment gives SHEFROL® a major economic advantage. In other ways, also, SHEFROL® appeared ideal for the use of pistia because of the reactor’s ease of operation, robustness, very low requirement of energy or materials, and negligible ecological footprint.

KEYWORDS:

• Pistia
• SHEFROL®
• greywater
• phytoremediation

Acknowledgments

SAA thanks the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, for the Emeritus Scientist grant (21(1034)/16/EMR-II). PP thanks CSIR for a research associateship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India [(21(1034)/16/EMR-II)].