Heliyon (Feb 2024)
New developments on vermifiltration as a bio-ecological wastewater treatment technology: Mechanism, application, performance, modelling, optimization, and sustainability
Abstract
The review discusses the advancements in vermifiltration research over the last decade, focusing on pollution removal mechanisms, system performance, the fate of filter components, and by-products. Vermifiltration has demonstrated remarkable capabilities, particularly in treating highly contaminated wastewater with Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) levels exceeding 92,000 mg/L and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) levels over 25,000 mg/L, achieving removal rates of approximately 89% and 91%, respectively. Importantly, vermifiltration maintains its effectiveness even with fluctuating organic loads at the inlet, thanks to optimization of parameters like Hydraulic Loading Rate, biodegradable organic strength, earthworm density and active layer depth. Clogging issues can be minimized through parameters optimization. The review also highlights vermifiltrations’ potential in co-treating the organic fraction of municipal solid waste while significantly reducing heavy metal concentrations, including Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu, Cr, and Zn, during the treatment process. Earthworms play a pivotal role in the removal of various components, with impressive removal percentages, such as 75% for Total Organic Carbon (TOC), 86% for Total COD, 87% for BOD5, 59% for ammonia nitrogen, and 99.9% for coliforms. Furthermore, vermifiltration-treated effluents can be readily utilized in agriculture, with the added benefit of producing vermicompost, a nutrient-rich biofertilizer. The technology contributes to environmental sustainability, as it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), thanks to earthworm activity creating an aerobic environment, minimizing GHG production compared to other wastewater treatment methods. In terms of pollutant degradation modeling, the Stover-Kincannon model outperforms the first-order and Grau second-order models, with higher regression coefficients (R2 = 0.9961 for COD and R2 = 0.9353 for TN). Overall, vermifiltration emerges as an effective and sustainable wastewater treatment solution, capable of handling challenging wastewater sources, while also producing valuable by-products and minimizing environmental impacts.
