Removal of dimethylphenols and ammonium in laboratory-scale horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands.

Phenolic compounds in industrial wastewaters are toxic pollutants and pose a threat to public health and ecosystems. More recently, focus is being directed toward combining the treatment of these compounds with a cost-effective and environmentally sound technology. The removal efficiency of dimethylphenol and ammonium nitrogen was studied, for the first time, in three different laboratory-scale horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands planted with .

Rapid screening of phytoremediation effluents by off-line tetramethylammonium hydroxide assisted thermochemolysis.

Tetramethylammonium hydroxide-assisted thermochemolysis performed in an off-line mode proved a useful tool in determining organic compounds in the effluent from laboratory-scale phytoremediation systems. Studies were performed with artificial wastewaters contaminated with xylenols and densely rooted Juncus effuses plants. Analytes in these molecular-level based studies included xylenol substrates, an array of stable intermediates such as low molecular weight carboxylic acids and oxidative coupling products (tetramethyl biphenyldiols, tetramethyl diphenylether monools), diagnostic fatty acid biomarkers, as well as lignin-, carbohydrate-, and protein-based phenols and carboxylic acids.

Sorption determination of phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a multiphase constructed wetland system by solid phase microextraction.

Non-degradative sorption of organic pollutants onto plant roots during phytoremediation is an essential retardation mechanism. To determine the extent of the attenuation processes the freely dissolved concentrations of organic solutes must be determined rather than their total concentrations. Thus, the assessment of attenuation caused by sorption onto plant compartments can be biased when using traditional methods.