Performance and toxicity reduction in Colocasia esculenta (Taro plant) assisted baffled subsurface flow constructed wetland treating swine wastewater.

Authors

Monish Goswami, Sandip Ghosh, Ajay S Kalamdhad

Published in

Journal of environmental management. Volume 414. Pages 130466. Jul 12, 2026. Epub Jul 12, 2026.

Abstract

The treatment of livestock wastewater requires efficient post-biological polishing to remove residual organics, nutrients, metals, and pathogens. This study evaluated a Colocasia esculenta-assisted sub-surface flow baffled constructed wetland treating high-strength swine wastewater (COD: 2607 ± 475 mg/L; BOD₅: 1175 ± 159 mg/L; ammonia: 173.2 ± 19 mg/L). The reactor (0.024 m³ active vol.) was operated continuously at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 5-11 days, with optimal performance observed at 9 days (flow rate: 0.0027 m³/d). Under these conditions, COD and BOD₅ decreased to 177 mg/L and 51 mg/L (>85-90% removal), respectively, while ammonia decreased to 37.8 mg/L. The baffled zig-zag hydraulic configuration promoted spatial redox stratification, enabling sequential organic degradation, nitrification, and denitrification. Major nutrients were substantially attenuated, with Na decreasing from 642 to 45 mg/L, K from 298 to 157 mg/L, Mg from 95 to 57 mg/L, and Ca from 29 to 8 mg/L. Trace metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, and Zn) were reduced to near or below detection limits, with root-dominated accumulation confirming effective phyto-stabilization (translocation factor <1). Colocasia esculenta exhibited enhanced growth, with shoot length increasing from 0.28 to 0.55 m and biomass increasing more than four-fold. Significant reductions in pathogen levels (total coliforms: 0.6 × 10⁵ to 1.2 × 10³ MPN/100 mL) and improvements in Allium cepa root elongation (up to 200%) and mitotic index (26.82 ± 10.87%) further confirmed reduced phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity after treatment. Overall, the integrated baffled wetland system demonstrated strong potential as a compact, low-energy, and decentralized treatment approach for sustainable livestock wastewater management.

PMID:
42437540
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Jul 2026.

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