A REVIEW OF TREATMENT KINETICS FOR CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

First order removal kinetics are used routinely to describe the performance of constructed wetlands. The purpose of this paper to demonstrate that, depending on the characteristics of the wastewater, the use of conventional first order kinetics to describe the performance of constructed wetlands may be inappropriate. The TSS and BOD removal rate constants used in the design of wetlands, as reported in the literature are empirical apparent overall removal rate coefficients, and, in most cases, may not have any physical meaning. A first order retarded rate coefficient model is offered as an alternative for the purpose of analyzing the performance of constructed wetlands.