THE ECO-FRIENDLY WASTEWATER TREATMENT AT MOUNTAIN REFUGES: A SHORT OVERVIEW OF MOST PROMISING TECHNOLOGIES

The Alps and Apennines are mountain areas of great natural and landscape value, whose paths are beaten by a considerable number of tourists each year. The particular climatic conditions and the fragility of the mountain ecosystems require special attention in order to minimize the impact of human presence on the environment [1]. Even if the sustainability of a mountain infrastructure is ensured by an integrated management of energy, water and wastes and of cross-relations between them, the wastewater treatment represent one of the biggest challenge. In recent years, great efforts have been made in finding depuration technologies suitable for areas where energy supply, limited water resources, costly transport, unfavorable climate and load variations are only some of the problems to be addressed [1].
In this paper a short overview of eco-friendly technologies proposed and/or used in the wastewater treatment at mountain refuges is here reported, reserving a special focus to some “functional” materials recently used as substrate in phyto-purification systems. A possible up-grade of the wastewater treatment systems based on biofilm reactors, is also proposed.