Sanitation of blackwater via sequential wetland and electrochemical treatment

Artificial wetlands: Two heads are better than one Where constructed wetlands are unable to remove pathogens from wastewater, an electrochemical cell could step in to tackle the challenge. Artificial wetlands can treat domestic wastewater outside of centralized facilities—making them particularly important in countries where safe wastewater transport is difficult—but the efficiency of pathogen removal varies greatly from site to site. A team led by Srikanth Mutnuri at the Institute of Technology and Science in Goa, India, now couple a constructed wetland with a vertical subsurface flow, able to remove organic matter and nutrients from waste, with an electrochemical cell designed to remove pathogens. The cell contains an anode chamber where acidic pH and oxidative species disinfect the effluent, effectively reducing the coliform count where the wetland couldn’t. Optimizing the stability and energy consumption of the system are the crucial next steps