three selected parameters reached up to 99% for all the parameters. In this work, the
removal of four pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen)
in the hybrid system was studied as well. The CW performed high RE for all of the
four pharmaceuticals when the RE of diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and
naproxen was 81.1%, 93.2%, 96.7%, and 78.3%, respectively.
Keywords Agro-industrial wastewater · Hybrid constructed wetlands ·
Macrophytes · Pharmaceuticals · NSAIDs
18.1 Introduction
Constructed wetlands (CWs) is an efficient technology for treatment of wide range of
wastewaters, which has been used for more than 50 years (Vymazal 2011a). Domestic and municipal wastewater is usually treated using CWs (Brix and Arias 2005;
Kadlec and Wallace 2009), but other types of wastewater such as agro-industrial
wastewater (Cronk 1996; Knight et al. 2000; Sultana et al. 2015) can be effectively
treated by CWs as well. Constructed wetlands are also used for treating diffuse
agricultural pollution (Kasak et al. 2018; Mendes et al. 2018) and they can be used
for pesticide mitigation from non-point sources as well (Vymazal and Březinová
2015). In the Czech Republic, the last reported number of CWs for municipal
wastewater treatment was 250 (Vymazal 2011b); however, we estimate that the
number has increased up to 400 constructed wetlands recently. Municipal and agroindustrial wastewater might contain many different pharmaceuticals and personal
care products (PPCPs) some of which can be considered endocrine disruptors (EDs).
Degradation of such compounds in constructed wetlands was also tested in many
studies (e.g., Ávila and García 2015; Hakk et al. 2018).
18.1.1 Hybrid Constructed Wetlands
Many different types of constructed wetlands such as free water surface CWs,
subsurface flow CWs with upward flow, etc., were developed and used during the
50-year history of the CWs application. However, currently the most common ones
are wetlands with subsurface horizontal (also called horizontal filters or horizontal
flow constructed wetlands—HF CWs) (Vymazal 2011c) and subsurface vertical
flow (also called vertical filters or vertical flow constructed wetlands—VF CWs)
(Brix and Arias 2005). The difference of VF lies in filtration medium fractions
distribution, distribution and drainage pipes placement, and most importantly in the
water flow direction. VFs are commonly fed intermittently with large batches of
wastewater (Vymazal 2016). The combination of HF and VF in the so-called hybrid
systems is currently becoming more and more popular (Vymazal 2013). The main
reason for using the hybrid system is to exploit the advantages of each filter in order
to fulfill the requirements for the quality of the discharged water and especially to
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M. Šereš et al.
removal of four pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen)
in the hybrid system was studied as well. The CW performed high RE for all of the
four pharmaceuticals when the RE of diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and
naproxen was 81.1%, 93.2%, 96.7%, and 78.3%, respectively.
Keywords Agro-industrial wastewater · Hybrid constructed wetlands ·
Macrophytes · Pharmaceuticals · NSAIDs
18.1 Introduction
Constructed wetlands (CWs) is an efficient technology for treatment of wide range of
wastewaters, which has been used for more than 50 years (Vymazal 2011a). Domestic and municipal wastewater is usually treated using CWs (Brix and Arias 2005;
Kadlec and Wallace 2009), but other types of wastewater such as agro-industrial
wastewater (Cronk 1996; Knight et al. 2000; Sultana et al. 2015) can be effectively
treated by CWs as well. Constructed wetlands are also used for treating diffuse
agricultural pollution (Kasak et al. 2018; Mendes et al. 2018) and they can be used
for pesticide mitigation from non-point sources as well (Vymazal and Březinová
2015). In the Czech Republic, the last reported number of CWs for municipal
wastewater treatment was 250 (Vymazal 2011b); however, we estimate that the
number has increased up to 400 constructed wetlands recently. Municipal and agroindustrial wastewater might contain many different pharmaceuticals and personal
care products (PPCPs) some of which can be considered endocrine disruptors (EDs).
Degradation of such compounds in constructed wetlands was also tested in many
studies (e.g., Ávila and García 2015; Hakk et al. 2018).
18.1.1 Hybrid Constructed Wetlands
Many different types of constructed wetlands such as free water surface CWs,
subsurface flow CWs with upward flow, etc., were developed and used during the
50-year history of the CWs application. However, currently the most common ones
are wetlands with subsurface horizontal (also called horizontal filters or horizontal
flow constructed wetlands—HF CWs) (Vymazal 2011c) and subsurface vertical
flow (also called vertical filters or vertical flow constructed wetlands—VF CWs)
(Brix and Arias 2005). The difference of VF lies in filtration medium fractions
distribution, distribution and drainage pipes placement, and most importantly in the
water flow direction. VFs are commonly fed intermittently with large batches of
wastewater (Vymazal 2016). The combination of HF and VF in the so-called hybrid
systems is currently becoming more and more popular (Vymazal 2013). The main
reason for using the hybrid system is to exploit the advantages of each filter in order
to fulfill the requirements for the quality of the discharged water and especially to
396
M. Šereš et al.