A constructed wetland model for synthetic reactive dye wastewater treatment by narrow-leaved cattails (Typha angustifolia Linn.).

Textile wastewater is contaminated by reactive dye causing unattractive levels of wastewater color, high pH and high salt content when discharged into public water systems. Decolorization of textile wastewater by plant, phytoremediation, is an alternative, sustainable method which is suitable for long term operation. Narrow-leaved cattails are one species of wetland plant with efficiency for decolorizing and remediating textile wastewater. In addition, chemical oxygen demand (COD) can be lowered and dye residue can be removed. The plant also showed a good salt tolerance even after being exposed to a salt solution for 15 days. The narrow-leaved cattails were set up in a constructed wetland model with a vertical flow system operating from bottom to top for synthetic reactive dye wastewater (SRDW) removal. Narrow-leaved cattails could achieve the removal of SRDW at approximately 0.8 g(SRDW) m(-2) day(-1). Decolorization of SRDW by this plant was approximately 60%. The advantage of this method is that it is suitable for textile wastewater management and improvement of wetland. These plants could lower COD, remove dye, sodium and total dissolved solids (TDS) whereas other biological and chemical methods could not remove TDS and dye in the same time. These results suggested that the spongy cell structure of this plant has the ability to absorb large amounts of water and nutrients. Physico-chemical analysis revealed increasing amounts of sulfur, silicon, iron and calcium in the plant leafs and roots after exposure to wastewater. Proteins or amide groups in the plant might help in textile dye removal. Regarding decolorization, this plant accumulates dye in the intercellular space and still grows in this SRDW condition. Hence, it can be noted here that narrow-leaved cattails are efficient for textile dye wastewater treatment.

Synthetic reactive dye wastewater treatment by narrow-leaved cattails (Typha angustifolia Linn.): effects of dye, salinity and metals.

Narrow-leaved cattails were studied in synthetic reactive dye wastewater (SRDW) under caustic conditions. The effects of the toxic dye were expressed in terms of relative plant growth rate and the appearance of symptoms such as necrosis, and chronic or acute wilting. The dye toxicity was 25.33 mg l(-1) which was close to approximate the concentration of dye residue from the textile effluent in the public stream. The system pH and % color removal were decreased, indicating that narrow-leaved cattail can treat wastewater. The average system pH decreased from 9 to 7. The maximum color removal was approximately 60% when cultured under soil conditions. The SEM image of narrow-leaved cattail root after treatment with SRDW indicated that the root cortex was damaged and the crystalline sodium salts deposited in the root cells which caused evaporation and transpiration decreased in SRDW. The salinity under caustic conditions also affects the growth of the plants. The maximum sodium removal was approximately 44% and was found in the SRDW under soil conditions within 14 days. A small amount of sodium could enhance the relative growth rate. However, the sodium removal of the plants was limited after the third week of treatment. It should be noted that narrow-leaved cattails are known to avoid the textile dye and salt stress conditions during SRDW treatment through special mechanisms such as salt accumulation in the roots or shedding of older leaves. In addition, elements such as silicon, calcium and iron in plants might help the plant to detoxify by forming complexes with dye molecules.