Despite growing health concerns and increasing water scarcity, adequate wastewater treatment and reuse remains limited in India. Low-cost, decentralised, and nature-based on-site sanitation systems could play a key role in a circular water approach. This paper evaluates the performance of a Wastewater Fertigated Short Rotation Coppice (wfSRC) system based on willow, poplar, and bamboo species as a potential solution, offering low-cost, efficient water treatment, and high biomass production. Through a full-scale wfSRC pilot plant (250 m·day municipal wastewater on 6864 m) established at Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, India, treatment capacities, biomass production rates, and contamination tolerance of different willow, poplar, and bamboo species were investigated. The chemical compositions of incoming wastewater, percolation water, soil, and biomass were monitored regularly. Despite the high load, all plant sections of the wfSRC system showed efficient removal of wastewater-originated pollutants. BOD5 and COD removal efficiencies were up to 99% and 95% respectively. Removal efficiencies for PO4-P reached 93% and for TN 91%. In general, total nitrogen and phosphate loads appear to be the limiting design parameters under the conditions at Aligarh to meet all discharge limits in India. Biomass production was projected to be >225 tDM·ha·yr for bamboo, 65 tDM·ha·yr for willow, and 206 tDM·ha·yr for poplar. The pilot, conducted from March 2022 to June 2023, showcased how these densely planted agroforestry systems can effectively treat wastewater through natural processes such as oxidation, microbial degradation, and plant uptake. The findings demonstrate wfSRC's potential to serve as a nature-based, sustainable approach to wastewater treatment, particularly beneficial for suburban and rural areas in India and similar regions worldwide. This paper also provides recommendations for future implementation of wfSRC systems, emphasizing the need for careful planning regarding plant selection, system design, and operational strategies to maximize treatment efficiency and biomass production.

中文翻译：

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印度废水处理和资源回收短轮换林系统的设计、实施和评估

尽管健康问题日益严重，水资源短缺日益严重，但印度充分的废水处理和再利用仍然有限。低成本、分散式和基于自然的现场卫生系统可以在循环水方法中发挥关键作用。本文评估了基于柳树、杨树和竹树种的废水施肥短轮转林 (wfSRC) 系统的性能，该系统作为潜在的解决方案，提供低成本、高效的水处理和高生物质产量。通过在印度北方邦阿里加尔穆斯林大学建立的全规模 wfSRC 试点工厂（6864 m，处理量为 250 m·天的城市废水），对不同柳树、杨树和竹树种的处理能力、生物质生产率和污染耐受性进行了研究调查了。定期监测流入废水、渗滤水、土壤和生物质的化学成分。尽管负荷很高，wfSRC 系统的所有工厂部分都显示出有效去除废水来源的污染物。BOD5和COD去除率分别高达99%和95%。PO4-P 的去除效率达到 93%，TN 的去除效率达到 91%。一般来说，在阿里加尔的条件下，总氮和磷酸盐负荷似乎是满足印度所有排放限制的限制设计参数。竹子的生物质产量预计为 >225 tDM·ha·yr，柳树为 65 tDM·ha·yr，杨树为 206 tDM·ha·yr。该试点于2022年3月至2023年6月进行，展示了这些密集种植的农林复合系统如何通过氧化、微生物降解和植物吸收等自然过程有效处理废水。研究结果表明，wfSRC 有潜力成为一种基于自然、可持续的废水处理方法，特别有利于印度的郊区和农村地区以及全球类似地区。本文还为 wfSRC 系统的未来实施提供了建议，强调需要对工厂选择、系统设计和运营策略进行仔细规划，以最大限度地提高处理效率和生物质产量。