Constructed Wetlands for Industrial Wastewater Treatment

10The Performance of Constructed Wetlands for Treating Swine Wastewater under Different Operating Conditions

Gladys Vidal Catalina Plaza de Los Reyes and Oliver Sáez

Engineering and Biotechnology Environmental Group (GIBA-UDEC), Environmental Science Faculty and Center EULA–Chile, University of Concepción, Concepción-Chile

10.1 Introduction

10.1.1 The Swine Sector and the Generation of Slurries

Pork production is led globally by China, the European Union and the United States, with Chile accounting for less than 1% of global production. The high demand for pork in Asian countries (South Korea, Japan and China) continues to be most important focus for exports, including from Chile. Because of this, the pork sector in Chile is becoming more important. Chile now ranks sixth among producing countries globally and second among countries in Latin America after Brazil, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). This has resulted in increased quantity of swine slurries, which is the main residue of the pork industry. Slurry management varies from the productive process to final disposition through a system of appropriate treatment.

10.1.2 Characterization of Slurries

Swine slurries are characterized by a mixture of feces and urine. The physiochemical composition of slurries is heterogeneous owing to the high degree of variation in diet, stabling systems, wash water management, accumulation time and type of storage [1]. Table 10.1 shows the generation and characterization of pig slurries ...