Application of wastewater treatment system with vetiver grass as a cost effective method in Vietnam

Abstract

A drainage system with a cover of vegetation is considered to be one of the affordable systems as a wastewater treatment. A drainage system with vetiver grass which has special characteristics in absorbing the pollutants from wastewater was designed and applied to treat domestic wastewater. We analyzed chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (T-N), total phosphorus (T-P) and pathogens in influent and effluent of the treatment system to evaluate the performance of the system. The system could remove 68% of T-N, 76% of T-P, 78% of COD and a considerable amount of pathogen from wastewater. The water quality of the effluent met the standard of EPA for watering plants in a garden. The results indicated that the drainage system had potential for treating domestic wastewater.