International Conference on Sustainable Sanitation:

“Food and Water Security for Latin America”

POTENTIAL OF HYDROPONICS FOR GRAYWATER TREATMENT

- TWO CASE STUDIES -

(1)
Sofia Andersson
2003 until present - PhD student at the dep. of Environmental microbiology, School of Biotechnology, Royal
Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm. Project title: Biofilms in wastewater treatment
1998-2003 - MSc in Chemical engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm
Master Thesis: Evaluation of Wastewater Treatment Plant at the Brewery ICSA in Managua, Nicaragua
1997 - Spanish language studies at University of Zaragoza
Anna Norström
2005 PhD at the dep. of Environmental microbiology, School of Biotechnology, Royal Institute of Technology,
KTH, Stockholm. Thesis title: Treatment of domestic wastewater using microbiological processes and
hydroponics in Sweden.
MSc in Chemical engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm
(1)
Address : Department of Environmental Microbiology, School of Biotechnology, Royal Institute of
Technology, AlbaNova University Centre S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel: +46 (8) 5537 8398, Fax: +46 (8)
5537 8323, e-mail: sofia@biotech.kth.se

ABSTRACT
Hydroponic growth is the technique to cultivate plants with roots emerged in solution. Using hydroponics in
wastewater treatment gives us the possibility to recycle nutrients by means of production of valuable crops.
This article evaluates and compares two studies of pilot-scale hydroponic plants with biological pretreatment.
The systems were set-up in a temperate climate context treating domestic wastewater in the Stockholm area,
Sweden and in a tropical climate context treating high-strength abattoir wastewater in Kampala, Uganda. These
results could be applied on graywater treatment by observing only the hydroponic step of the systems since the
composition of graywater in many ways resembles the biologically pretreated water that enters the hydroponic
steps. This means that hydroponic systems for graywater could be designed without biological pretreatment.
Both systems substantially reduced the concentrations of nitrogen and COD but still, they did not manage to
meet all the local discharge limits. Only approximately 4% of the incoming nitrogen was taken up by
macrophytes, however, good plant growth was observed in both systems. Hydroponics for treatment of
graywater and production of valuable crops like vegetables, oil producing plants or biofuel has potential in
warm climates.

KEY WORDS: hydroponics, graywater treatment, wastewater treatment

INTRODUCTION
Conventional end-of-pipe solutions for wastewater treatment have been criticized from a sustainable view-
point, in particular regarding recycling of nutrients. The concept of ecological sanitation, Ecosan, comprises
the recycling of nutrients, separation of waste streams and a viable economic prospect (1). By separating
graywater from wastewater, these requirements can be fulfilled utilizing hydroponic systems.

In the 19th century two scientists, J. von Sachs and W. Knop, independently showed that terrestrial plants
could grow in nutrient solution without soil. They demonstrated that plants could supply all their needs from
inorganic elements and sunlight only. Today the technique to grow plants with roots emerged in solution is
called hydroponics (2). One reason to introduce plants in wastewater treatment is the possibility to recycle
nutrients by means of production of valuable crops. Plants take up nutrients and water by their roots, hence in
hydroponic wastewater treatment the wastewater can be regarded as a nutrient solution. In a soil substrate, the
roots usually obtain sufficient oxygen; but when plants are grown in a liquid medium they might experience
diffusion limitations. Oxygen deficiency inhibits cell respiration, thus preventing an adequate supply of
metabolic energy to drive absorption processes (3). As a result, nutrient absorption and biomass production are

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reduced. Therefore, aeration of the fertilizer bulk solution in hydroponics is necessary to keep oxygen levels
high in the vicinity of the roots. Other important parameters in hydroponics are pH and the nutrient
concentration. The uptake rate changes according to the growth stage, the growing conditions and the ion
source. The root system also provides a solid substrate for microorganisms. A large root system is thus
regarded as a positive property of the plants.

Many different designs have been proposed for hydroponic systems, both batch and flow-through systems. One
of the most crucial design criteria for hydroponics is to provide sufficient oxygen to the roots. In flow-through
systems this is obtained by the movement of the water while in batch systems simulated aeration through
pumps is required. Systems with very low electricity demand can be built using flow-through systems with a
slight inclination resulting in gravitational flow. Thus, by keeping the plant roots semi submerged, enough
oxygen can be provided.

In order to treat wastewater, which normally has a higher organic load than graywater, a conventional
biological step has to be added as a pretreatment. High organic load in the hydroponic tanks causes oxygen
depletion and a degradation of the plant roots. If low strength water is used as a feed, however, less biological
pretreatment is needed.

This article evaluates and compares two studies of pilot-scale hydroponic treatment plants performed within
the department of Environmental Microbiology, KTH, Sweden (4, 5). One of the studies was set-up in a
temperate climate context treating domestic wastewater in the Stockholm area, Sweden. The other study was
performed in a tropical climate context on the premises of Kampala City Abattoir, Uganda, treating high-
strength abattoir wastewater (6).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

System description - Stockholm

The whole system was constructed inside a green house in order to enable year-round function. The climate in
Sweden does not allow plant growth during wintertime due to the cold weather. The system comprised
biological pretreatment, hydroponics and microalgae ponds (Figure 1.). In detail, the system consisted of a
0.6m3 anoxic tank, a 0.6m3 aerated tank, three 1.6m3 hydroponic tanks, a 0.14m3 clarifier, two 0.5m3 algal
tanks, a second clarifier (0.2m3) and two 0.1m3 sand filters. The aerated tank, hydroponic tanks and the algal
tanks were aerated using air pumps. Water was recirculated from the last hydroponic tank to the anoxic tank at
a rate of 200%. The terrestrial plants were supported by a plastic net floating on the water surface in the tanks
(Figure 2.) and among the species used can be mentioned Alocasia sp., Calla sp., and Monstera sp. The system
was fed with 0.56-0.86m3 domestic wastewater per day and the hydraulic retention time was around 9-13 days.
The oxygen level was kept at 2-4 mg O2/L and the water temperature hovered between 15-25°C. The system
was run for a period of four years and was regularly monitored.

Figure 1 (above). Overview of the tanks and flows in the Stockholm

study. The numbered arrows indicates sampling points.
HP = hydroponic, CL = clarifier
Figure 2 (right). The configuration of the plastic net supporting the
terrestrial plants in one of the hydroponic steps.

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System description - Kampala

The system in Kampala was constructer out doors. The tropical climate and the vast amount of sunlight offered
good conditions for plant growth. This system comprised biological pretreatment with hydroponic polishing
(Figure 3.). Because of the high carbon and nutrient content of the abattoir wastewater the system was designed
with anaerobic digestion as the first step. After the 0.2m3 anaerobic tank followed two 0.2m3 aerated tanks, a
0.03 m3 settling tank and six 0.07 m3 hydroponic tanks. No recirculation was installed and the flow was driven
by gravity. The hydroponic tanks were prepared with 15kg papyrus plants per tank. The system was fed with
0.1m3 wastewater from the Kamplala City Abattoir per day and the hydraulic retention time was 10 days. The
system was run for around three month.

Figure 3. The set up of the tanks and flows in the Kampala study. Sampling points are marked with a star.

Chemical analyses and physical parameters

Dissolved oxygen, pH and temperature were measured in fresh samples with a HACH SensION156 meter.
Nitrogen fractions were measured spectrophotometrically using Merck reagents (1.14752 Ammonium, 1.14773
Nitrate, 1.14776 Nitrite). Total nitrogen, total phosphorus and COD were analysed using HACH test kits
according to the procedures manual (HACH Company, Loveland, CO).

Removal of pathogens
Five indicators were analysed by culture based methods, to determine the removal of microorganisms in the
Stockholm pilot plant. Total coliforms, Escherichia coli and enterococci were analysed with ColilertTM18 and
EnterolertTM (IDEXX; Westbrook, ME, USA), Clostridium perfringens spores and somatic coliphages were
analysed according to standard method (ISO 6461/2, ISO 10705-2).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Stockholm
The two main design purposes of the hydroponic step were: i) to provide an aerated environment for the
conversion of organic matter and the nitrification processes, and ii) uptake of nutrients through growth of
macrophytes. In the Stockholm study complete nitrification was achieved in the hydroponic step and an overall
removal efficiency of 72% for nitrogen, 90% for COD and 47 % for phosphorus was obtained (Table 1).
Moreover, the indicators analyzed for pathogen removal showed an achieved effluent quality comparable
to, or better than, for conventional secondary treatment.

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The results showed that the system reached the design effluent targets of 90% COD removal, complete
nitrification and removal of total nitrogen as expected with a recycle ratio of around 2, however, the typical
standard effluent limits of around 10-15 mg BOD/L and 10-20 mg N/L (7), were not always reached with the
present set-up. Nitrification activity was shown to be located in the biofilm associated to the plant roots, which
implies that the amount of roots in a tank is highly significant for the process rate. Phosphorus was removed by
47% and the majority was detained in the algal step and sand filters. Inorganic carbon assimilation by the algae
caused a pH increase which resulted in biologically mediated chemical precipitation of calcium phosphates.
Although with an inflow concentration of about 15 mg P/L the standard effluent limit of 0.2-0.5 mg P/L (7)
was still out of reach. During the intentionally cooler winter period, the plant growth almost ceased as
expected; but the analysis showed that the overall treatment capacity did not significantly change during this
period.

The second design criteria concerned nutrient uptake and growth of macrophytes. In very productive plants,
such as wetland plants, considerable amounts of nutrients can be bound in the biomass. The uptake capacity of
emergent macrophytes is approximately 20 times higher for nitrogen than for phosphorus (8). Since there has
been no consistent recording of added plants or biomass removed during occasional harvesting, it is not
possible to elaborate on the plant specific uptake within this study. The theoretical amount of removed
nitrogen, calculated based on the actual phosphorus removal and the defined recycle ratio, was determined to
be approximately 4% of the nitrogen inflow. For a system aiming at producing green biomass, arable area is
more important than tank volume. Thus, several shallower tanks would imply more arable area, and would still
provide the system with adequate retention time to achieve complete nitrification. In addition, in a system with
a large accessible area, products from the system might contribute more to the treatment through uptake
removal. Even though the macrophyte biomass production was not measured, the potential of the system could
be estimated. If tomato plants had been used, the annual yield from the system would then be around 180
kg tomatoes, and the removed amount of nitrogen and phosphorus would be approximately 4-5% of
the inflow amounts.

Escherichia coli was never detected in effluent water after more than 5.8 log CFU removal. Enterococci was
detected in 1/3 of the effluent samples after more than 3.8 log CFU (99.98%) reduction, and coliforms showed
a 4.1 log CFU reduction. Spores and coliphages were not as efficiently removed as the bacterial indicators. A
major part (60-87%) of the overall removal occurred in the last part, where adsorption to the sand filters and
elevated pH in the algal tanks were considered to be contributing factors.

Another interesting observation was that very little sludge was accumulated in the system, and no sludge was
removed or recycled from the clarifier. Guterstam and Todd (9) proposed that ecological systems would
produce little or no sludge. In principal, the Stockholm system can be viewed as a system with a high sludge
age, which would signify a low sludge production (10).

Table 1. Comparison between the two systems of the overall reduction of carbon and nutrients

Stockholm Kampala
Parameter In Out Reduction (%) In Out Reduction (%)
COD (mg O2/L) 460 46 90 2104 242 88
Nitrogen (mg N/L) 84 23 72 201 51 75
Phosphorus (mg P/L) 15 8 47 33 6 82

Kampala
I the Kampala setup complete nitrification was achieved. However, the system did not manage to denitrify the
produced nitrate, probably because of the absence of recirculation. Nitrogen and phosphorus removal reached
75% and 82% respectively and COD removal 88% (Table 1). Good biomass production was obtained as long
as the biological pretreatment reduced the organic load to concentrations below 300 mg COD/L.

The effluent did not reach the Ugandan discharge standards for total nitrogen (10 mg N/L) and COD (100 mg
O2/L). The COD was mainly removed in the biological pretreatment. Nitrification removal took place in the

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aerated tank. The succeeding hydroponic tanks did not show any nitrification activity, however, partial
denitrification occurred. These tanks were not aerated but the planted papyrus has a capacity to provide oxygen
to the root system, thus completely anoxic conditions were not attained. Complete denitrification could most
easily be achieved by adding a recirculation flow from the system outlet to the inlet of the anaerobic tank.
Phosphorus on the other hand was removed to low concentrations below the discharge limit of 10 mg P/L. The
phosphorus was mainly removed in the hydroponic steps. Like in the Stockholm study the mechanism was
probably biologically mediated chemical precipitation. Although no algal steps were included in the setup, the
uncovered hydroponic tanks developed a high algal growth.

The combination of the facts that papyrus is a fast growing macrophyte and the tropical climate in Kampala,
provide beneficial prerequisites for a substantial biomass production and a corresponding high recycling of
nutrients. A vast plant production and a considerable growth of the roots was observed. Nevertheless, the
amount of nutrients taken up by the plants was not analyzed.

Abattoir sewage is probably highly contaminated with pathogens due to the manure, blood, guts and rests of
hides that are discharged. However, no study on the removal of pathogens was performed. Efficient pathogen
removal has previously been achieved through settling and predation in biological full-scale treatment systems
of abattoir wastewater (11).

Comparison of the systems

The two systems had similar designs, total hydrolic retention times and overall reduction of nitrogen and COD.
Still, some differences in the system design and performance can be pointed out. The Kampala system
achieved a much higher phosphorus removal. One reson for this could be the warmer climate. Generally,
chemical reactions are faster in higher temperatures. Since the phosphorus removal was thought to be a
biologically induced chemical precipitation process a tropic climate could explain the performance difference.
The climate most likely also affected other chemical and biological processes. Although the Stockholm system
was setup inside a greenhouse, the temperature in the winters was low causing the plant growth to almost cease
while the Kampala study had potential of a high year-round plant production. Two crucial differences in the
system setups were the presence or absence of a recirculation flow and aeration pumps in the hydroponic tanks.
One of the design criteria for the Kampala system was to keep it low cost and low in maintenance
requirements. The only energy demanding devices in the Kampala systems were the inlet pump and the air-
pump for the aerated pretreatment step. A recirculation flow and aeration of the hydroponic tanks would
require additional pumps and would thus increase the energy demand. The potential performance increase as
well as the increased costs and enhanced risk of system failure have to be carefully evaluated.

Potential for graywater treatment

The systems that have been evaluated and compared in this study treated wastewater and comprised proper
biological treatment as a first step. How are the results of these studies applicable to more diluted wasters like
graywater? Well, the composition of graywater varies but is generally much lower in both organic materials
and nutrients than wastewater. In the Kampala study it was clearly shown that the plants in the hydroponic
tanks could only grow if the organic material in the water was relatively low (<300 mg/L COD). In the
Stockholm system, the water entering the hydroponics was low in organic material (≈100 mg/L COD) and
nutrients. The fact that a rather small fraction of the nutrients was incorporated in new macrophyte biomass
implies that only very low concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus are needed for the hydroponics. This
means that hydroponic systems for graywater could be designed without biological pretreatment. An advantage
of graywater is the relatively low pathogen content due to the absence of fecal contaminants. This facilitates
both the handling of the systems and the quality of potential products. Hydroponics for treatment of graywater
and production of valuable crops like vegetables, oil producing plants or biofuel has potential in warm
climates. However more research is needed before any recommendations can be made.

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CONCLUSIONS
The use of hydroponics in waste- and graywater treatment with recycling of nutrients in the form of produced
biomass has potential, above all in warm climate contexts.

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