Biomass production and water purification from fresh liquid manure – Use of vermiculture, macrophytes ponds and constructed wetlands to recover nutrients and recycle water for flushing in pig housing

Abstract A wastewater treatment system including a screen, a vermifilter, macrophytes ponds, and constructed wetlands has been built after a pig housing on slatted-floor. The aims were, all at once, to recycle water for excretion washing and to produce, from the nutrients contained in the effluent, organic matter and plants that can be either sold or reused on the farm to reduce inputs. Analyses, made on the effluent at different steps of the treatment plant, show that the concentrations of the nitrogen, microorganisms and endocrine disruptors are drastically reduced, while the phosphorus and potassium removal go through the byproducts harvesting.