Vertical phytoremediation of wastewater using Vetiveria zizanioides L

In many areas, wastewater feeds water bodies, which leads to it being non-usable for agricultural and other uses. Phytoremediation is a scientific approach which cleans contaminated waters, demanding large areas for application. Vertical agriculture is a new method to compact plant cultures. This study investigates vertical wastewater phytoremediation (VWP). Twenty vetiver grasses were planted in a hydroponic vertical agriculture system. Wastewater flowed into the system in four different flow rates, 60, 80, 100, and 160 l day−1 and water purity was assessed in order to measure the remediation ability of the VWP. Results showed a reduction in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5 and NO3− concentrations and an increase of electrical conductivity (EC) and dissolved oxygen (DO) in the outlet. Maximum and minimum (BOD5) reduction percentage (78.47% and 67.36%) and NO3− removal percentage (90.53% and 36.41%) occurred in flow rates 60 and 160 l day−1, respectively. With the increase of wastewater flow rate, phytoremediation performance decreased, but the performance of VWP with vetiver grass was efficient enough to enable wastewater remediation. Scaling up VWP with Vetiver and related competitive plant species holds promise for wastewater remediation for both human and ecosystem services.