Emerging organic contaminant removal in constructed wetlands

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the current state of research activities on the application of constructed wetlands for removing emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) from wastewater. The design parameters of the reported constructed wetlands including the physical configuration, vegetation species, and targeting subjects were summarized. The removal efficiencies under different conditions in the wetlands were evaluated. In addition, the importance of the three main components of constructed wetlands (substrate, plants and microbes) for emerging organic contaminant removal was analyzed to elucidate the possible removal mechanisms involved. There is a general consensus among many researchers that constructed wetlands hold great potential of being used as an alternative secondary wastewater treatment system for the removal of pharmaceuticals.