Cairo

Location: This typology is located in an open area not far from a river near Cairo, a large metropolitan area with 20 million inhabitants in Egypt - the largest in Africa, the Arab world, and the Middle East, and among the top 10 largest in the world.

Climate:This region is characterised by an arid mediterranean climate with almost no rain fall over the year and extreme summer temperatures and exposed to near constant intense solar radiation over the year.

Typology: A constructed wetland with endogenous vegetation (Cyperus papyrus acting for phytoremediation) to treat waste water and the river water.

Description:

After the first procurement stage which has successfully ended after presenting the preliminary design of this pilot, a second stage is ongoing for its on site implementation. The commissioning stage has already ended. This system is composed by a hybrid constructed wetland the design of which follows the recommendations from NICE research partners Aarhus University. Those recommendations included a specific hydraulic loading rate for the contaminant removal target. In addition to the constructed wetland itself, the system included the selection of a specific kind of vegetation (Cyperus papyrus) which is endogenous and has been scientifically proven over the last years to be highly efficient in removing a number of common contaminants that are present in waste water, especially heavy metals.

The entire system helps to remove heavy metals, cations and anions. There are pottery drippers to reduce the concentration of heavy metals and water salinity and the hydraulic loading is around 10 m³/day. The maximum capacity for which the wetland is designed and deals with is around this rate. An important point for the system is that the materials' local substrate were utilised, mitigating the CO₂ footprint of material transport. These local substrates have a low granulometry.

Main technological innovation: 

• Use and evaluation of the contaminent removal efficiency fromCyperus papyrus specifically for cation, anion and microbial removal.
• Evaluating the performance of the system using a low granulometry substrate. We are demonstrating the performance of this system in a real setting, further, of a little explored typology, an off-line wetland that is treating the river water.

Synergies:

• Designed including design recommendations from Aarhus University