A combined vertical flow constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell system with duckweed post treatment for sustainable piggery effluent management.
Murthy KN, Mutnuri S
Phytoremediation
PubMedPig farm runoff is one of the leading causes of algae blooms that choke lakes and rivers, and this system offers a way to clean that water using living plants while even producing a little electricity — making clean water more achievable for farms near the places you swim, fish, and hike.
Pig farms produce a lot of dirty wastewater full of nutrients that can poison rivers and groundwater if not treated. Scientists built a system using two types of water-cleaning plants — a tall flowering plant called canna lily and tiny floating plants called duckweed — arranged in a series of tanks that filter the water naturally. As a bonus, bacteria in the system generated a small but real amount of electricity while doing the cleaning work.
Key Findings
The system removed nearly 78% of organic carbon waste (COD) and over 73% of total organic carbon from pig farm wastewater.
Nutrient pollution was significantly reduced: ~62% of phosphate, ~63% of nitrate, and ~56% of total nitrogen were removed, cutting eutrophication risk.
The microbial fuel cell component generated a peak voltage of 478 mV and a power density of 38.7 mW/m², demonstrating real electricity generation from wastewater treatment.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers built a pilot-scale wastewater treatment system that combines constructed wetlands, microbial fuel cells, and duckweed to clean up pig farm wastewater — while simultaneously generating electricity. The system removed the majority of harmful nutrients and organic waste, reducing pollution risks to waterways and soil.
Abstract Preview
The intensification of pig farming has increased the challenge of managing piggery wastewater, which poses serious risks of eutrophication as well as soil and groundwater contamination. This study ...
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Canna or canna lily is a genus of flowering plants consisting of 10 species. It is the only genus in the family Cannaceae. All of the genus's species are native to the American tropics and were naturalized in Europe, India and Africa in the 1860s. Although they grow native to the tropics, most cu...