Fitorremediación y reutilización de lixiviados reducidos en el compostaje de biosólidos mediante humedales artificiales de vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides L. Roberty)

Abstract

Phytoremediation is the set of techniques in which plants are used to degrade, extract, contain or immobilize soil and water contaminants. In the case of sewage effluents and agro-industries, artificial wetlands are the most common designs for phytoremediation treatment, designed with the purpose of emulating the natural conditions of wetland ecosystems, and take advantage of its intrinsic capacity for self-purification in a controlled manner. Currently, in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche, the sewage sludge from the sewage treatment plant is transported to an area away from the urban area and treated by open-pit composting in piles with overturning. In the process leachates are produced that are captured and stored in tanks until they are transported back to the treatment plant for treatment, which is expensive and is not exempt from environmental risks.In this work an alternative of treatment for these leachates is proposed, by means of artificial wetlands with reuse of the treated effluent. The species Chrysopogon zizanioides, commonly known as Vetiver, has been chosen.