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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #93150
Title: CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS FOR SWINE LAGOON WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Author
item SZOGI, ARIEL - NC STATE UNIV
item Hunt, Patrick
item HUMENIK, FRANK - NC STATE UNIV
item RICE, J - NC STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Typically, confined swine production facilities use anaerobic lagoons and land application for treatment of liquid manure. With this treatment method, it is easy to overload an area with nutrients. One alternative treatment is the use of constructed wetlands (CW). Three surface-flow wetland systems comprised of two (3.6-m x 35.5-m) cells connected in series were evaluated. Two systems were planted to two different mixtures of wetland plants and a third one to water-tolerant agronomic crops (rice and soybean). A nitrogen (N) loading rate of 3 kg/ha/day was used the first year of operation, but the rate was increased up to 25 kg/ha/day in the subsequent three years. At the low loading rate, 94% of N was removed. At higher loading rates, 80 to 90% of N was removed. Results indicate that CW can remove large amounts of N as part of swine waste management systems.