Waste Management 32 (2012) 1387–1393

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Waste Management
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Landfill leachate treatment using sub-surface flow constructed wetland by Cyperus

haspan
Christopher O. Akinbile a,b,⇑, Mohd Suffian Yusoff a, A.Z. Ahmad Zuki a
a
School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
b
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Performance evaluation of pilot scale sub-surface constructed wetlands was carried out in treating
Received 17 October 2011 leachate from Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill (PBSL). The constructed wetland was planted with Cyperus
Accepted 1 March 2012 haspan with sand and gravel used as substrate media. The experiment was operated for three weeks
Available online 26 March 2012
retention time and during the experimentation, the influent and effluent samples were tested for its
pH, turbidity, color, total suspended solid (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen
Keywords: demand (BOD5), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), Total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN) and also for heavy
Effluent
metals such as iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) concentrations. The results
Constructed wetland
Cyperus haspan
showed that the constructed wetlands with C. haspan were capable of removing 7.2–12.4% of pH,
Removal efficiency 39.3–86.6% of turbidity, 63.5–86.6% of color, 59.7–98.8% of TSS, 39.2–91.8% of COD, 60.8–78.7% of
BOD5, 29.8–53.8% of NH3-N, 59.8–99.7% of TP, 33.8–67.0% of TN, 34.9–59.0% of Fe, 29.0–75.0% of Mg,
51.2–70.5% of Mn, and 75.9–89.4% of Zn. The significance of removal was manifested in the quality of
the effluent obtained at the end of the study. High removal efficiencies in the study proved that leachate
could be treated effectively using subsurface constructed wetlands with C. haspan plant.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Sanitary land filling remains one of the major methods for mu-
nicipal and industrial solid waste disposal (Mohajeri et al., 2010).
Up to 95% of total municipal solid waste (MSW) collected world-
wide are disposed using the landfills. However, sanitary landfill
generates large quantity of heavily polluted leachate, which in-
duced highly potential hazard for the public, flora, fauna health
and ecosystems (Aziz et al., 2004). In Malaysia, population has
been increasing at a rate of 2.4% per annum or about 600,000 per
annum and with the population growth, the municipal solid waste
generation had also increased, which makes municipal solid waste
management crucial (Zahari et al., 2010). Due to growing popula-
tion and increasing consumption, the amount of solid waste gener-
ated in Peninsular Malaysia increased from 19,100 tons per day in
2005 to 23,000 tons per day in 2010, it may further increase to
25,000 tons per day in 2012 and is also expected to reach
30,000 tons per day in 2020 (Kabit, 2010). Approximately 95–97%
of wastes collected were dumped on landfill, 5% of which is being
recycled but the Malaysian Government aimed to have 22% of
waste recycled by 2020 (Kabit, 2010).
⇑ Corresponding author at: School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia. Tel.: +60 164363925; fax: +60 45941009.
E-mail address: cecoakinbile@eng.usm.my (C.O. Akinbile).
Natural wetlands have been used for wastewater treatment and
polishing but they sufferred from some operational disadvantages
such as in hydraulic control and vegetation management (Katayon
et al., 2008). The potential of constructed wetland environment as
an hydraulic structure for treating wastewater has been recognized
for quite some time (Babatunde et al., 2008). Constructed wetland
had been effective in treating wastewater due to its support for di-
verse population of bacteria which were important in removal of
BOD5 and it offered quiescent conditions for sedimentation,
adsorption, filtration, and ion exchange (Cothren et al., 2002). Con-
structed wetlands are artificial man-made systems or engineered
wetlands marsh which were designed, built and operated either
as new or restored habitat for native and migratory wildlife to
emulate functions of natural wetlands (Kropfelova et al., 2009).
They were created from a non-wetland ecosystem or a former ter-
restrial environment, mainly for the purpose of pollutant removal
from leachate. The constructed wetland treatment system is an
economical alternative for wastewater treatment using local re-
sources and is an energy-efficient technology (Langergraber,
2007). Constructed wetlands also create required mitigation for
natural wetlands lost to a development sewage and purification
of wastewaters (Gikas et al., 2007). The system utilized the active
agents which were wetland plants and micro-organisms, in the
treatment processes (Sim et al., 2008). Constructed wetland
systems could potentially tolerate variable volumes of water and
varying contaminant levels (Steer et al., 2002). The sources

0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.03.002
1388 C.O. Akinbile et al. / Waste Management 32 (2012) 1387–1393
included municipal and domestic wastewater, urban surface run-
off, agricultural wastewater, industrial effluents and polluted sur-
face waters in rivers and lakes (Verhoeven et al., 2006).
A very wide range of treatment processes had been applied to
leachate treatment with varying degrees of success and the one
which had been consistently successfully applied for municipal
waste landfill leachate from controlled landfills, are biological pro-
cesses (Perbangkhem and Polprasert, 2010). Although, this process
had not been effective in salinity reduction and only partially effec-
tive in removing COD, in reality it is seldom likely to present a risk
of impact on the receiving watercourse, unless flows are very low
and provide little dilution (Leachater, 2011a). Constructed wetland
design needed aquatic plants and various reports had proved
the ability of wetland plants such as Phragmites mauritianus and
Typha latifolia (Kaseva, 2004). (Calheiros et al., 2009) also used
Typha latifolia to treat industrial wastewater with good results.
The use of aquatic plants such as water lilies (Nymphaea sponta-
nea), papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), Typha angustifola, Limnocharis
flava, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and water lettuce (Pistia
stratiotes) have been documented well in the previous studies
(Choo et al., 2006; Perbangkhem and Polprasert, 2010; Akinbile
and Yusoff, 2012; Sarafraz et al., 2009).
However, Cyperus haspan is an interesting plant from the family
of Cyperaceae and the genus is Cyperus (Leachater, 2011b) because
it grows well in the subtropical and tropical climate and is among
the most productive plants of wetlands for bioremediation pro-
cesses (Matamoros et al., 2005). This study therefore appraised
the performance efficiency of a constructed wetland in treating
wastewater generated from Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill,
Malaysia. This was to ascertain the removal efficiency of COD,
BOD5, and TSS by C. haspan and determine if the plant was most
suitable for bioremediation process in the study.
2. Materials and methods
2.2. Description of study site
Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill (PBSL) site is one of the Sanitary
Landfill located within Byram Forest Reserve at 5°24N0 and 00°24E0
in Penang, Malaysia with leachate recirculation system of 62.4 ha
wide, has the capacity of 16000 tons of solid waste per day and
600,000 liters of leachate (Bashir et al., 2010). It receives 1500 tons
of solid waste daily (Aziz et al., 2007b). PBSL was developed as a
semi-aerobic system complying with a Level II sanitary landfill
by establishing a controlled tipping technique in 1991. It was sub-
sequently upgraded to a Level III sanitary landfill by employing
controlled tipping with leachate recirculation in 2001 (Aziz et al.,
2009) which has been upgraded to treat an average of 2000 tons
of solid waste a day, compared to a mere 350 tons about 10 years
ago. The leachate sampling for this study was carried out in
December 2010 and February 2011. Samples were taken from the
active detention pond. During the first sampling, two 25-litre
plastic containers with sealed caps were used for collecting the
leachate sample which was kept in the cold room of Environmental
laboratory at 4 °C temperature using APHA (2005) procedures. The
water quality parameters measured in situ were dissolved oxygen,
pH, color, and turbidity.
2.3. Leachate characterization
Wastewater samples were collected from outlet points weekly
to determine the following parameters; biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended
solid (TSS). Total phosphorus (TP), Total nitrogen (TN), Ammoniacal
Nitrogen (NH3-N) and heavy metals such as iron, magnesium,
manganese and zinc (Fe, Mg, Mn and Zn) were also determined
using standard procedures. Ammoniacal nitrogen in leachate was
determined using Nessler method (Method: 8038) with the
DR2010 spectrophotometer set at 425 nm wavelength while Fe,
Mg, Mn and Zn were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-
atomic emission spectrometry (ICP) with DR2800 using the
methods adopted by Al-Hamadani et al. (2011) and Bashir et al.
(2010). The pH was measured using portable pH meter (Hach, sens
ion 1, USA). COD was determined using colorimetric method (5220-
D). BOD5 was determined using 5-Day BOD test (5210-B). TSS was
determined by using Method No. 2540D. Color measurements, re-
ported as true color was filtered using GC-50 filter papers (Advan-
tech Toyo Kaisha Ltd., Japan) with 0.45 m pore size, assayed at
455 nm using DR 2000 HACH spectrophotometer. The effect of fil-
tration on color removal was corrected by means of a control sam-
ple. Method No. 2120C reports color in platinum–cobalt
(Pt–Co), the unit of color being produced by 1 mg platinum/L in
the form of the chloroplatinate ion. The effect of filtration on color
removal was corrected by means of a control sample. For checking
the removal efficiency, both the influent and effluent samples were
collected periodically daily till the end of the experiment and sam-
ples tested for included BOD5, COD, TSS, pH, color, turbidity, TP, TN,
NH3-N and heavy metals (Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn). The total influent and
effluent samples, prepared and tested were 10 in number and re-
moval efficiency was determined in line with the equation used
by Bashir et al. (2010). The experiments were continuously moni-
tored until the plants indicated signs of aging or senescence when
the system became overloaded with nutrients. It is important to
know that these calculations were based on comparison between
the initial and final concentrations from the effluent. Other param-
eters such as rainfall and evapotranspiration were not considered
during the calculations.
2.4. Heavy metals analyses
Some selected heavy metals which appeared in leachate were
analyzed. For this study, the important metals were Iron (Fe),
Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn) and Zinc (Zn). Mn, Mg and Zn
were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission
spectrometry (ICP) while DR2800 was used in test for Iron and
Manganese contents in the leachate.
2.5. Preparation of constructed wetland
Fifteen (15) adult pieces of C. haspan plants were selected as the
aquatic plant to be planted in the constructed wetland and before
cultivation, the constructed wetland beds were prepared with
gravel at the base and sandy loam at the top. This was done in line
with convectional practices as adopted by Chen et al. (2008) and
shown in Fig. 1. Some of the factors considered during construction
included the substrate which must have good porosity to prevent
clogging and must possess special capabilities to filtrate and ab-
sorb pollutants, especially for phosphorus. Clogging would be a
fatal threat for the smooth operations of the subsurface-flow con-
structed wetland. De-ionized water was used as the preservation
medium for the plant nutrient initially but was changed to the
leachate sample after three weeks. The change was carried out
by completely draining water out through the rubber stop cork
at the base of semi-transparent plastic container to ensure full
drainage. This was to prevent dilution of leachate if not properly
drained thereafter, leachate samples were added into the con-
structed wetland before the commencement of the experiment.
Outlet valve of the constructed wetland’s tank was positioned to
maintain the water level above the bed.
 C.O. Akinbile et al. / Waste Management 32 (2012) 1387–1393 1389

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of a surface-flow wetland constructed.

3. Results and discussions A gradual decrease in the pH concentration of effluents from

3.1. Characterization of leachate from PBSL
The initial characteristics of the 13 parameters considered for
analysis in the study were as shown in Table 1 with standard limits
using the environmental quality act (EQA, 2009) as the baseline for
comparison. With the exception of the pH value of 8.42 which was
still within the permissible range of 6.0–9.0, all other parameters
greatly exceeded the standard limits indicating considerable
pollution which is synonymous to leachate from PBSL. Several
researchers (Al-Hamadani et al., 2011; Bashir et al., 2010; Othman
et al., 2010; Ghafari et al., 2009) had reported similar range of val-
ues of these parameters concentration at the landfill site. Although,
the sampling and characterizations were carried out at different
times and seasons, the trend was similar in the range of values
for the parameters analyzed indicating that the characteristics of
PBSL has remained largely unchanged over a considerable period
of time. The concentration of TSS was 685 mg/L which expressed
the presence of organic and inorganic solids in the leachate while
ammonia nitrogen was surprisingly low with a value of 238 mg/
L, though higher than the discharge limit of 5 mg/L but much lower
than the values reported by Al-Hamadani et al. (2011), Ghafari
et al. (2009) and Othman et al. (2010). This symbolized the decom-
position of nitrogenous substances and also indicated toxicity
(Gunay et al., 2008). Also, low metal content could be attributed
to adsorption and precipitation processes involving the co-existing
sulfides, carbonates, or hydroxide anions (Othman et al., 2010).
constructed wetland was observed when compared with the initial
value at influent (Table 2). The pH was 8.42 without any treatment
but after 24 h of introduction of C. haspan, it reduced to 7.81. The
values further reduced to 7.7, 7.43 and 7.38 at 7 days interval
respectively. The longer the retention time, the bigger the differ-
ence of pH value observed and the result was consistent with the
behavior of pH in the treatment wetlands. Similar observations
were noticed by Al-Hamadani et al. (2011), Othman et al. (2010)
and Bashir et al. (2010). The tendency that the pH might not reduce
anymore if the plant show signs of aging were noticed and even
longer experimental days might not result in a pH lesser than 6.5
because according to Environmental Quality Act 1974, the best va-
lue for pH for water supply used ranged from 6 to 9 (Table 1). The
pH reduction in effluents was due to nitrification that produced
hydrogen ions in constructed wetlands.
3.2. Parameters removal by constructed wetland with Cyperus haspan
The leachate contained suspended solid matter consisting of
particles of many different sizes which were relatively small solid
particles that caused the leachate to appear turbid. An algae bloom
caused by excess nitrogen (from agricultural runoff, septic tanks, or
sewage outflows) and turbidity was caused by contamination from
sewage, and industrial waste (Li et al., 2010). The turbidity values
of the effluent reduced from 140 NTU to 18.7 NTU after 21 days of
treatment (Table 2). The 85% reduction in turbidity was an indica-
tion of the efficacy of C. haspan and constructed wetland in

Table 1
Characteristics of raw leachate from PBSL.

Parameters Units Leachate (Average values) Ghafari et al., 2009 Al-Hamadani et al., 2011 Othman et al., 2010 Standard discharge limita
pH – 8.42 8.4 8.13 8.26 6.0–9.0
Color Pt–Co 3360 3869 3140 2933 100
Turbidity NTU 140 – – – 50
Total suspended solids mg/L 685 80 380 130 50
COD mg/L 923.44 1925 2130 3180 400
BOD5 at 20 °C mg/L 686 – – 231 20
NH3-N mg/L 238 1184 1950 2050 5
Phosphorus (P) mg/L 117 – –
Nitrogen (N) mg/L 400 – –
Iron mg/L 6.19 5.3 5.0
Manganese mg/L 24.8 0.23 0.20
Magnesium mg/L 660 – –
Zinc mg/L 7.43 3.4 2.0

Notes: Platinium unit, Pt–Co.

a
(EQA, 2009) Environmental Quality Act. 2009, under the Laws of Malaysia–Malaysia Environmental Quality Act 1974.
1390 C.O. Akinbile et al. / Waste Management 32 (2012) 1387–1393

Table 2
Concentrations of leachate’s influent and effluent parameters.

No. Parameters Units Operating duration (days)

Influent Effluent 1 Effluent 7 Effluent 14 Effluent 21
Concentrations
1 pH – 8.42 7.81 7.7 7.43 7.38
2 Color Units 3360 1228 922 600 451
3 Turbidity NTU 140 85 72 29.5 18.7
4 TSS mg/L 685 276 115 13 8
5 CODcr mg/L 923.4 561.5 451.7 183 76
6 BOD5 mg/L 686 269 208 183.6 146
7 P mg/L 117 47 25 0.5 0.3
8 N mg/L 400 265 200 164 132
9 NH3-N mg/L 238 167 140 128 110
10 Fe mg/L 6.19 4.03 3.58 2.69 2.54
11 Mn mg/L 24.8 17.6 14.2 8.73 6.2
12 Mg mg/L 660 322 298 227 195
13 Zn mg/L 7.43 1.79 1.66 0.84 0.79

lowering the suspended solid particles in the leachate and this
agreed with the findings of Umar et al. (2011) that got similar
reduction values. Longer retention time resulted in bigger differ-
ence in turbidity values observed between influent and effluent
(Tumbuhan, 2008) and was evident from this study. Similar obser-
vations were obtained for the color of leachate sample after treat-
ment (Table 2) which showed effective reduction from 3360 to 451
after three weeks. A greater color concentration was due to dis-
solved organics (Al-Hamadani et al., 2011) and 86.6% reduction
in 21 days was possible due to the efficacy of C. haspan in the con-
structed wetland. While there are several techniques used for color
removal, coagulation followed by flocculation process was consid-
ered an effective method for removing high concentration of or-
ganic pollutants (Aziz et al., 2007a).
The initial concentration of TSS was 685 mg/L but reduced to
8 mg/L (Table 2). The TSS concentrations reduced significantly in
the cells with lower hydraulic retention time, but when hydraulic
retention time increased, the difference between TSS concentra-
tions in influent and effluents became insignificant (Table 2). This
observation was related to the remobilization of solids in con-
structed wetlands with longer hydraulic retention time. Steer
et al. (2002) noted that when remobilizations of solids occur, it
does limit the overall effectiveness and longevity of the wetland
systems with longer hydraulic retention time. At this stage, the
insignificant role of plants in TSS removal was attributed to the fact
that TSS was filtered from the leachate in the constructed wetlands
by incorporation into substrate.
The COD and BOD5 concentrations were also reduced signifi-
cantly over time, from the initial concentration to final concentra-
tion values of 923.4 to 76 mg/L and from 686 mg/L to 146 mg/L
after 21 days respectively (Table 2). C. haspan’s role in COD removal
was not significant in this research and this agreed with the obser-
vations of Lim et al. (2001). Although photosynthesis by plants
could generate oxygen to balance the one used for organic miner-
alization and nitrification, another mechanism of oxygen removal
in which microbial degradation in the attached biofilm played
dominant role, which had over shadowed this function of plants
(Mohajeri et al., 2010). Thus, the plants had only acted as a support
medium for microbial degradation to take place and for the con-
veyance of oxygen to the rhizosphere for aerobic biodegradation.
As for the BOD5 it was shown that, organic matter removal was
achieved along the facility since microorganisms such as bacteria
were responsible for decomposing organic waste. As the waste
was dispersed through the water, BOD levels began to decline.
Nitrates, phosphates and water temperature in leachate samples
also contributed to high BOD5 levels meaning that warmer water
usually will have a higher BOD5 level than colder water (Vymazal,
2005). Increase in water temperature increased the rate of photo-
synthesis by algae and other plants life in the water. The bacteria
required oxygen for the process so the BOD5 was high at this
location. Therefore, increased water temperatures will speed up
bacterial decomposition and result in higher BOD5 levels. When
BOD5 levels were high, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels decreased be-
cause the oxygen that was available in the water was being taken
up by the bacteria. The high removal of BOD5 concentration in this
study was because of the reduction of nitrates and phosphates in
leachate samples that have been used by the plant in constructed
wetland as its nutrients.
Total Phosphorus removal and storage from leachate occurred
within the constructed wetland itself while its initial and final con-
centrations in the wastewater samples were as shown in Table 2.
TP had almost 100% removal from 117 mg/L to 0.3 mg/L which
was removed from leachate through adsorption and precipitation
processes while plant uptake was also a possibility. It was reported
by Sim et al. (2008) that both physical mechanism and plant up-
take could contribute to its removal.
Initial value of total nitrogen showed a very high concentration
of 400 mg/L (Table 2). However, after the treatment using both
sub-surface flow constructed wetland and C. haspan, it decreased
steadily over time until the plants aged. This was due to bacteria
denitrification converting nitrate to nitrogen gas, hence the loss
of some of the leachate’s nitrogen. The removal mechanisms for
TN also included uptake by plants and microorganisms, ammonifi-
cation, nitrification, denitrification, ammonia volatilization and
cation exchange for ammonium (Li et al., 2010). Similar techniques
were employed in the ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) with the con-
structed wetlands providing both conditions in one single cell
which made it possible to have both nitrification and denitrifica-
tion at the same place (Katayon et al., 2008). The concentrations
of NH3-N in leachate sample before and after treatment were pre-
sented in Table 2 with initial and final concentration values of
238 mg/L and 110 mg/L respectively. Constructed wetlands greatly
reduced NH3-N concentration when operated at more than zero
day hydraulic retention time. Apparently nitrification was a plausi-
ble cause for NH3-N reduction and conversion to NO 3 . This was
reflected that the anaerobic nature of the wetland which was not
favorable for denitrification. The role of the plants was observed
to be significant in the case of NH3-N removal and nitrogen trans-
formation when constructed wetlands were operated at one day
hydraulic retention time. The plants were proven to accelerate
the process, as a lower concentration of NH3-N was observed at
the planted cell. Superiority of planted wetland cells in NH3-N re-
moval was also reported by Aziz et al. (2010) and Ching et al.
(2011). Through the nitrification process, ammonia was oxidized
 C.O. Akinbile et al. / Waste Management 32 (2012) 1387–1393 1391

to NO 
2 and later NO3 . The nitrification process occurred in the
aerobic rhizosphere where atmospheric oxygen was transferred
to the root zone through the wetland plant. The NO 3 was later dif-
fused into the reduced zone and transformed through denitrifica-
tion into either NO 2 or N2 or transformed through plant
assimilation, where the plants were available. The removal of ni-
trate was largely attributed to the denitrification process (Katayon
et al., 2008). Therefore, the occurrence of this process enabled the
planted wetlands to outshine the unplanted ones in nitrogen
removal. Significant difference of NHþ 3 concentration in effluents
from cell with day zero hydraulic retention time and day one
hydraulic retention time was recorded. This observation revealed
that constructed wetlands needed more than day zero to fully ni-
trify the ammonia loaded to the system. However, if it was during
rainy days, the value of NHþ 3 would significantly increase, indicat- Fig. 2. Removal efficiencies for pH, color, turbidity, TSS, BOD5, and COD.
ing that nitrification was insufficient, mainly due to the low tem-
peratures and low oxygen transfer from the plants to the roots 39.3 to 86.6% for turbidity. Constructed wetlands cells had re-
and the porous media. moved TSS effectively (59.7–98.8%) and also, as expected, the
COD and this was primarily due to organic matter. The constructed
3.3. Heavy metals removal wetland cells achieved 39.2–79.9% in COD. Values from this study
were closer to what was reported by Mohajeri et al. (2010) but
Induced Couple Plasma tests gave the initial and final concen- lower than the value of 86.2% and 80% reported by Lim et al.
tration results after 21 days for Fe, Mn, Mg and Zn as 6.19 mg/L (2001). It was also observed that for a longer hydraulic retention
to 2.54 mg/L; 24.8 mg/L to 6.2 mg/L; 660 mg/L to 195 mg/L and time, there was a higher percentage reduction in COD value. BOD
7.43 mg/L to 0.79 mg/L respectively (Table 2). Magnesium had removal efficiencies in the effluent varied from 60.8 to 78.7%
the highest concentration value for influent and effluent which (Fig. 2) and were partly due to the constructed wetlands and partly
could be obtained from various magnesium-containing com- as a result of the effect of the plant used for bioremediation pur-
pounds such as the by-products generated in the production of poses (Magmedov, 2007).
magnesium oxide and as magnesite (MgCO3) mineral (Gunay Similarly, the removal efficiencies for NH3-N and heavy metals
et al., 2008). The last among these, magnesite mineral occurs nat- (TP, TN, Fe, Mn, Zn, Mg) were as shown in Fig. 3 and from the fig-
urally and is present in abundance. Magnesium plays a vital role in ure, it was observed that the removal efficiency of P varied from
the structure of chloroplasts, and therefore had an effect on photo- 59.8 to 99.7%. Phosphorus reduction might be due to variation in
synthesis, the process by which plants absorb light and convert it the substrate, according to Steer et al. (2002), the effectiveness of
into energy and oxygen. The reduction obtained in magnesium va- wetlands in P reduction is a function of the adsorption capacity
lue was due to its partial usage by C. haspan. Though, Fe had a small of the substrate. For Nitrogen removal, the efficiencies ranged from
value of 6.19 mg/L which was later reduced to 2.54 mg/L, the 33.8 to 67%, while for NH3-N, 29.8 to 53.8% removal was observed.
reduction was due to magnesium usage by C. haspan. While iron The findings were in agreement with those obtained by Ching et al.
was absolutely necessary for plant survival, too much of it leads (2011). Fig. 3 also showed high removal efficiencies for other heavy
to toxicity and too little leads to stress in some plants, yellowish metals such as zinc, magnesium, manganese and ferrous iron.
coloration in leaves (a condition called chlorosis) and reduction in Based on the findings, the removal rates of heavy metals were
crop yields (Amir et al., 2009). found to be very high. Zinc ranged from 75.9 to 89.4%, magnesium,
Manganese had initial concentration values of 24.8 mg/L which 51.2 to 70.5%, manganese, 29 to 75% and Iron ranged from 34.9 to
was later reduced to 6.2 mg/L after 3 weeks of experiment (Table 59% and they all agreed with similar results from the same PBSL by
2). Manganese is one of the micronutrient required by plants to Al-Hamadani et al. (2011), Aziz et al. (2011), Aziz et al. (2010) and
help in breakdown of carbohydrates and nitrogen. Manganese is Bashir et al. (2010).
required in trace quantities in hydroponic nutrient solutions. A Having identified factors influencing the removal of nutrient pol-
deficiency of manganese is similar to a deficiency of magnesium, lutants and heavy metals from the leachate which included the con-
except that pale and yellowish leaves are observed at the top structed wetland, comprising of water, substrate (sand and gravel),
rather than the bottom of the leaves (Aziz et al., 2011). Manganese plant (C. haspan) and some microorganisms, an attempt was made
also aid plants with nitrogen metabolism. Plants get manganese
through the leachate sample supplied.
Zinc concentrations in the influent and effluent were shown in
Table 2 which ranged from 7.43 mg/L to 0.79 mg/L indicating a
steady but considerable decrease in the total concentration during
monitoring. This also showed clearly plants effect on the metal
since it could not be reduced by the constructed wetlands. For
the other heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), their
concentrations were lower than the detection limit in the effluent,
hence not in sufficient quantities to endanger aquatic species when
discharged into streams or rivers.

3.4. Factors influencing removal efficiency

The removal efficiencies for pH, color, turbidity, TSS, BOD5, COD
were as shown in Fig. 2. The observed removal efficiencies (in per-
cent) varied from 7.2 to 12.35% for pH, 63.5 to 86.6% for color, and Fig. 3. Removal efficiencies for NH3-N and heavy metal (TP, TN, Fe, Mn, Zn, Mg).
1392 C.O. Akinbile et al. / Waste Management 32 (2012) 1387–1393
to conduct comparative analaysis of the treated effluents for re
use.The effluent quality was compared with Environmental Quality
Act 1974 in the section of Environmental Quality (Control of Pollu-
tion From Solid Waste Transfer Station and Landfill) Regulations
2009, as presented in Table 1. The water quality of effluents from
constructed wetlands satisfied the requirement of standards, with
the exception of the BOD, ammoniacal nitrogen and Manganese
concentrations. Notwithstanding, the treated effluent could be
safely released into the environment without apprehension of the
possibility of hazard or toxicity implications.
4. Conclusions
An attempt was made to evaluate the performance efficiency of
constructed wetland with C. haspan in treating wastewater
generated from PBSL. The tests result showed that all parameters
tested and heavy metals experienced considerable reduction in
their concentrations. Highest reduction efficiencies were recorded
for parameters and heavy metals in TSS with 59.7–98.8% and TP
with 59.8–99.7% in three weeks respectively. The wetland plant,
C. haspan had proven a very reliable plant in treating leachate
going by the results of this study. Also, from the overall perfor-
mance of the sub-surface flow wetland constructed, it was estab-
lished that the method was efficient in removing significant
percentage of the parameters tested from the leachate sample.
Sand and gravel materials also proved suitable for plant growth
medium from the results of this study. The use of plant types other
than cyperus such as cattails, reeds and bulrushes should be inves-
tigated to determine if optimum species exists. The use of other
specialized media such as zeolite, to improve the porosity and pen-
etration of plant root and avoid clogging from occurring is
suggested.
Acknowledgments
The authors are most grateful to the Third World Academy of
Science (TWAS) for providing one year Post Doctoral fellowship
for Dr. Christopher Oluwakunmi AKINBILE (FR Number:
3240223476) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) to enable him
utilize the fellowship in conducting this study at USM.
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