Removal of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and charged xenobiotic organic compounds from greywater using green wall media

Abstract

Green walls offer a novel on-site approach for greywater treatment and reuse in densely build urban environments. However, they need to be engineered for effective removal of a wide range of emerging contaminants such as xenobiotic organic compounds (XOCs), which may be present in greywater due to extensive use of personal care products and household chemicals. This study used laboratory column design and batch experiments to investigate the performance of three lightweight green wall media (coco coir, zeolite, and perlite) and their mixture in three different combinations for the removal of twelve XOCs, covering wide range of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and charged pollutants in greywater. The experiments were designed to assess the removal of targeted XOCs under different operational condition (i.e., hydraulic loading, infiltration rate, drying) and uncover the dominant mechanisms of their removal. Results showed excellent removal (>90%) of all XOCs in coco coir and media mix columns at the start of the experiment (i.e., fresh media and initial 2 pore volume (PV) of greywater dosing). The removal of highly hydrophobic and positively charged XOCs remained high (>90%) under all operational conditions, while hydrophilic and negatively charged XOCs exhibited significant reduction in removal after 25 PV and 50 PV, possibly due to their low adsorption affinity and electrostatic repulsion from negatively charged media. The effect of infiltration rate on the removal of XOCs was not significant; however, higher removal was achieved after 2-weeks of drying in coco coir and media mix columns. The dominant removal mechanism for most XOCs was found to be adsorption, however, a few hydrophilic XOCs (i.e., acetaminophen and atrazine) exhibited both adsorption and biodegradation removal processes. While findings showed promising prospects of unvegetated media for removing XOCs from greywater, long term studies on vegetated green wall systems are needed to understand any synergetic contribution of plants and media in removing these XOCs.