Fuente: PubMed "honey" Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2026 Mar 30. doi: 10.1007/s11356-026-37624-z. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAn upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) was coupled with a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSFCW) for full-scale real garment wastewater. The role of highly biodegradable wastewater as an external carbon source in enhancing the removal of anionic surfactants was observed. Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal in UASB were markedly higher in the anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) process with the addition of honey wastewater (HWW) and 100 mg/L of urea compared to monodigestion (90.71 ± 2.6% and 66.48 ± 7.5%, respectively), while foaming was significantly decreased. The reaction rate constant (k) was markedly enhanced by 64% and 36% upon the supplementation of HWW for LAS and COD removal, respectively. At the same time, ammonia inhibition on anaerobic microorganisms was not detected, as the ammonia concentration remained below the reported critical concentration (4.22 ± 1.08 mg/L). In relation to the HSFCW, two of the six emergent plants used in this study, i.e., Cyperus papyrus and Equisetum debile, showed significant growth declines, whereas two others, Typha latifolia and Canna indica, were well developed. UASB, as the primary unit, achieved superior pollutant removal, while HSFCW complemented it in removing the remaining pollutants. The effluent from the integrated system was below the local discharge limits, demonstrating the high performance of the proposed system in full-scale operation. This study represents an innovative approach to using biodegradable wastewater as an external carbon source to replace synthetic chemicals and offers a promising prospect for the degradation of recalcitrant compounds in full-scale treatment.PMID:41913000 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-026-37624-z