ABSTRACT
Natural and artificial marsh systems have been used to successfully treat both primary and secondary municipal wastewaters. Studies testing the efficacy of marsh systems on industrial effluents or industrial effluent components have been limited. Allender tested the removal effectiveness of a variety of aquatic plants native to Australia on pulp and paper mill effluent. Based on a three-year study of pilot scale facilities, artificial marsh systems proved successful in substantially reducing concentrations of several pollutants in a pulp mill effluent (TSS, BOD5, ammonia, and organic nitrogen). The systems were only moderately effective in reducing phosphorus levels and were completely ineffective in reducing color levels. A key unknown in assessing the practicality of marsh systems is long-term performance. Substrate interstices could become so occluded with roots and bacterial mass that retention time and treatment efficiency would be significantly reduced, although the increased biomass might offset this effect.
