Assessment of bioelectrochemical materials and aeration in constructed wetlands for reducing contaminants of emerging concern from reverse osmosis brine
Reverse osmosis (RO) can be used to produce clean water from wastewater effluents but it generates pollutant-rich brines, including nutrients and Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs). We evaluated laboratory-scale constructed wetlands (CWs) built with coke and biochar substrates (and sand as cont...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::1d6bd0366b3e192e0a1484e73b029434 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/429782 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/105035788340 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Nature-based solutions Biochar Brine management Constructed wetlands Emerging contaminants http://metadata.un.org/sdg/17 http://metadata.un.org/sdg/3 http://metadata.un.org/sdg/12 http://metadata.un.org/sdg/6 http://metadata.un.org/sdg/11 http://metadata.un.org/sdg/9 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development |
| Sumario: | Reverse osmosis (RO) can be used to produce clean water from wastewater effluents but it generates pollutant-rich brines, including nutrients and Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs). We evaluated laboratory-scale constructed wetlands (CWs) built with coke and biochar substrates (and sand as control) under non-aerated and aerated conditions for their efficiency in removing nutrients and CECs from RO brines. We assessed the treatment of brine produced by aged and new RO membranes, covering different pollutant loads. Brine from the newly installed RO membrane contained CEC concentrations up to 40 times higher than the aged-membrane brine. Nutrient removals were similar in all CWs ('60% for nitrogen and phosphorous). Biochar CWs exhibited '90% removal for 12 out of 13 CECs, even under high-pollution input conditions, where coke and sand showed average removals of 73%. Aeration increased the removal of certain CECs (ca. 30%) only in coke-built CWs under the high-pollution input conditions. Adsorption of CECs on biochar was low ('35%). Thus, direct/indirect degradation and biodegradation were doomed predominant attenuation mechanisms. In fact, biodegradation in the biochar CWs was associated with the enrichment of Xanthobacter and Flavobacterium genera, recognized for their CEC-degradation capacity. In contrast, coke and sand, which were less efficient than biochar, were enriched with genera not specifically related to CECs degradation. These findings suggest that biochar CWs could be a sustainable and cost-effective solution for on-site treatment of RO brine from wastewater reuse stations. |
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