Sulphate Removal from Wastewater in Constructed Wetland Ecotechnology Using Pumice Amended in the Sand Media

Abstract

Abstract Sulphate is a part of sulphur compounds which potentially inhibit plant growth and microbial activities in receiving surface water. Thus, it is important to remove concentration of sulphate from wastewater to acceptable concentration before the water is released into aquatic system. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are good option of wastewater treatments due to their low-cost and eco-technology. This research aimed to investigate the removal of sulphate from domestic wastewater using sand media amendment with pumice in CWs. In this experiment, six variations of CWs consisting sand and pumice planted with lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) were established. Domestic wastewater was loaded into CWs with loading rate 2 L/day. Sulphate concentrations were determined in inflows and outflows. The results showed that all treatment significantly remove sulphate concentrations from the inflow. The highest removal efficiency was in the media with 100% of pumice.