Metals: Occurrence, Treatment Efficiency and Accumulation Under Varying Flows

Metals were the first priority pollutants to be widely investigated in stormwater. In solid phase, they are often attached to very fine particles. The dissolved fraction creates considerable environmental problems as it is the most bioavailable fraction. Hence, removal of both fine and dissolved particles plays a major role in the treatment of polluted runoff. Ecotechnologies specifically designed to remove metals should be able to address different treatment mechanisms. However, the exhaustion of sorption capacity reduces the lifespan of treatment facilities. Additionally, metal concentrations fluctuate extremely—spatially, seasonally and over time—which poses another challenge for further increasing removal efficiencies. While soil- or sand-based systems should be designed in a way that the filter material can be exchanged, newer developments such as Floating Treatment Wetlands show promising removal capacities as the installations bind metals in sludge sediments, which can be removed from time to time. The different treatment mechanisms, aforementioned developments and techniques as well as their removal capacities will be discussed in this chapter