Restaurant wastewater treatment by constructed wetlands

A low-cost method for domestic wastewater treatment has been developed for scattered settlements in rural areas with no sewer facilities. The system was operated with only restaurant wastewaters having pollutant strengths 2 to 4 times higher than typical domestic wastewater. The system dimensions were 1 m x 4 m x 0.4 m (W x L x H). The three layers inside were separated by plastic sheets and filled with 10 cm thick peat layers. The system could treat up to 400 L of restaurant wastewater daily with removal rates of COD, TKN, PO4-P, N-Total, and SS of 94.4, 2.7, 0.23, 2.95, and 87.2 g/m(2), respectively. The system was equipped with a disinfection unit having two 8 W UV lamps. The efficiency of disinfection was tested based on the pathogen count in the effluent. No Escherichia coli or fecal coliforms were detected in the effluent.