Artificial ecosystems for wastewaters treatment under Mediterranean conditions Morocco

Abstract

The use of well-designed and high efficient extensive wastewater technologies can provide subsequent economic advantages low-cost investment and cheaper operational costs and can contribute to protecting the environment and ensuring safe water resources reuse of treated wastewater . Following the progressive experimentations led under Mediterranean climate MHEA® Experimental Centre in M'Diq, NW of Morocco , the methodological and technological process of Hierarchised Mosaics of Artificial Ecosystems MHEA® permitted to identify multi-ecosystemic plants for urban-wastewaters treatment, passing the traditional extensive-plants efficiencies. Results obtained during the optimization period permit to provide the structure of several MHEA® technologies adapted to the South Mediterranean socio-economic and environmental context, respecting a net treatment area of 2 m2 PE-1, a total load of 5 000 PE ha and a retention time of 15 days. The valorisation possibilities of waters treated 23 m3 PE-1 an-1 , sludge 57 kg of dry weight PE-1 year-1 and aerial biomass of macrophytes under the Mediterranean climate constitute a significant economic input for these technologies