Abstract:
This work provides a comprehensive overview of the presence of the
antimicrobial agent triclosan in wastewater, the environmental and health concerns this
poses, and a summary of current research on its removal through various wastewater
treatment methods. Constructed wetlands are an alternative onsite wastewater treatment
and this study researched triclosan removal rates for operational subsurface constructed
wetlands functioning for onsite treatment. It also compared two different types of
constructed wetland system designs and their efficiency in removing triclosan from
domestic wastewater. The findings suggest that constructed wetlands significantly
contribute to triclosan removal in onsite systems with a removal range of 15 to 56%
though no significant differences were found between horizontal flow constructed
wetlands and vertical flow wetlands in their removal efficiencies for triclosan. Four
species of wetland plants commonly used in constructed wetland systems were
investigated in a laboratory wetland setting for their contribution to triclosan removal
from a constructed wetland system. No significant differences were found in triclosan
removal among the four plant species or between the planted and unplanted control
containers suggesting that the dominant removal mechanism for triclosan in constructed
wetlands is not dependent on the plant communities.
