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LARGE-SCALE REMEDIATION OF OIL-CONTAMINATED WATER USING FLOATING TREATMENT WETLANDS
Afzal, M., K. Rehman, G. Shabir, R. Tahseen, A. Ijaz, A.J. Hashmat, and H. Brix.
Clean Water 2:Article 3(2019)

Four different plants, Phragmites australis, Typha domingensis, Leptochloa fusca, and Brachiaria mutica, were used to vegetate a 3,058 m2 floating mat made from locally sourced materials to treat an oil-contaminated water stabilization pit in District Chakwal, Pakistan. The plants and pit water were inoculated with a consortium of 10 different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. The application of floating treatment wetlands to the pit reduced chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, hydrocarbon content, and heavy metals by 97.4%, 98.9%, 82.4%, 99.1%, and 80%, respectively, in 18 months. All plants survived and showed growth, but maximum development and biomass production were exhibited by P. australis. The bacteria used for inoculation were able to persist and show degradation activity in the water as well as in the rhizoplane, roots, and shoots of the plants. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-018-0025-7.pdf



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