Sewage Sludge Treatment in Constructed Wetlands: Technical, Economic and Environmental Aspects Applied to Small Communities of the Mediterranean Region

This PhD thesis has been carried out in the Group of Environmental Engineering and Microbiology of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya BarcelonaTech (Department of Hydraulic, Maritime and Environmental Engineering). This work is part of two research projects financed by the Spanish Ministry of Environment and by the Catalan Water Agency. Both projects focused on evaluating the performance of different configurations of Sludge Treatment Wetlands in terms of sludge dewatering, mineralisation and hygienisation. This research arises from the lack of knowledge of this technique, mainly in the Mediterranean Region where until now little experience has been developed. The main objective of this research work was to assess the suitability of this technology for sludge treatment and management; with special focus on small wastewater treatment plants (with less than 2,000 Population Equivalent) in the Mediterranean Region. Technical, environmental and economic aspects of the treatment were investigated. A comparison with conventional treatment for sludge management is presented in order to establish the most favourable solution for the Catalan context.