Treating swine wastewater by integrating earthworms into constructed wetlands

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the application of integrating earthworms (Pheretima peguana) into two-stage pilot-scale subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (SFCWs) receiving swine wastewater in terms of their treatment performance, namely organic content, total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and solid reduction as well as the quantity of sludge production. There was a minor difference in terms of removal efficiency according to each parameter when comparing the unit with earthworms to the one without earthworms. Both achieved the TKN, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total volatile suspended solids (TVSS), suspended solids (SS), and total solids (TS) removal by more than 90 %. The earthworms helped in reducing the sludge production on the surface of constructed wetlands 40 % by volume, which resulted in lowering operational costs required to empty and treat the sludge. The plant biomass production was higher in the wetlands without earthworms. Further research could be undertaken in order to effectively apply earthworms inside the wetlands.

Keywords:

• Clogging
• constructed wetlands
• earthworms
• swine wastewater
• vermicomposting

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Thailand Research Fund (TRF). The authors greatly appreciated the linguistic advice of Prof. Dr. Mark A. Nanny, The University of Oklahoma and Assist. Prof. Simon J.P.Wright, Chulalongkorn University.