DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Contributions of emergent vegetation acting as a substrate for biofilms in a free water surface constructed wetland

  • Zhao, Ruijun (School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science & Technology) ;
  • Cheng, Jing (Department of Resource and Environment, Anhui Science and Technology University) ;
  • Yuan, Qingke (Department of Environmental Engineering, Hanseo University) ;
  • Chen, Yaoping (School of Earth and Environment, Anhui University of Science & Technology) ;
  • Kim, Youngchul (Department of Environmental Engineering, Hanseo University)
  • Received : 2018.05.18
  • Accepted : 2018.09.15
  • Published : 2019.01.25

Abstract

This study assessed the contribution of emergent vegetation (Phragmites australis, Typha latifolia, and Nelumbo nucifera) to the submerged surface area, the amount of biofilms attached to the submerged portions of the plants, and the treatment performance of a free water surface (FWS) constructed wetland. Results showed that a 1% increase ($31m^2$) in the vegetative area resulted in an increase of $220m^2$ of submerged surface area, and 0.48 kg Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS) of attached biofilm. As the vegetation coverage increased, effluent organic matter and total Kjeldahl nitrogen decreased. Conversely, a higher nitrate concentration was found in the effluent as a result of increased nitrification and incomplete denitrification, which was limited by the availability of a carbon source. In addition, a larger vegetation coverage resulted in a higher phosphorus in the effluent, most likely released from senescent biofilms and sediments, which resulted from the partial suppression of algal growth. Based on the results, it was recommended that constructed wetlands should be operated with a vegetation coverage of just under 50% to maximize pollutant removal.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Supported by : Ministry of Environment, Anhui University of Science & Technology

References

  1. APHA, AWWA and WEF (2005), Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (21st ed.), American Public Health Association/American Water Works Association/Water Environment Federation, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
  2. Bartlett, M.S. (1960), Stochastic Population Models in Ecology and Epidemiology, Methuen, London, United Kingdom.
  3. Beauchamp, E.G., Trevors, J.T. and Paul, J.W. (1989), "Carbon sources for bacterial denitrification", Adv. Soil Sci., 10, 113-142. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8847-0_3
  4. Bendoricchio, G., Cin, L.D. and Persson, J. (2000), "Guidelines for free water surface wetland design", EcoSys Bd., 8, 51-91.
  5. Furumai, H. and Ohgaki, S. (1982), "Fractional composition of phosphorus forms in sediments related to release", Water Sci. Technol., 14(4-5), 215-226. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1982.0100
  6. Gottschall, N., Boutin, C., Crolla, A., Kinsley, C. and Champagne, P. (2007), "The role of plants in the removal of nutrients at a constructed wetland treating agricultural (dairy) wastewater, Ontario, Canada", Ecolog. Eng., 29(2), 154-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2006.06.004
  7. Hammer, D.A. and Knight, R.L. (1994), "Designing constructed wetlands for nitrogen removal", Water Sci. Technol., 29(4), 15-27. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1994.0148
  8. Hosomi, M., Okada, M. and Sudo, R. (1982), "Release of phosphorus from lake sediments", Environ. Int., 7(2), 93-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-4120(82)90078-2
  9. Jorgensen, S.E. (1994), Fundamentals of Ecological Modelling (2nd ed.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
  10. Juneau, K.J. and Tarasoff, C.S. (2013), "The seasonality of survival and subsequent growth of Common Reed (Phragmites australis) rhizome fragments", Invasive Plant Sci. Manag., 6(1), 79-86. https://doi.org/10.1614/IPSM-D-12-00051.1
  11. Kadlec, R.H. and Wallace, S.D. (2009), Treatment Wetlands (2nd ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A.
  12. Khatiwada, N.R. and Polprasert, C. (1999), "Assessment of effective specific surface area for free water surface constructed wetlands", Water Sci. Technol., 40(3), 83-89. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1999.0142
  13. Kim, Y. and Kim, W.J. (2000), "Roles of water hyacinths and their roots for reducing algal concentration in the effluent from waste stabilization ponds", Water Res., 34(13), 3285-3294. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(00)00068-3
  14. Maine, M.A., Hadad, H.R., Sanchez, G.C., Di Luca, G.A., Mufarrege, M.M., Caffaratti, S.E. and Pedro, M.C. (2017), "Long-term performance of two free-water surface wetlands for metallurgical effluent treatment", Ecolog. Eng., 98, 372-377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.07.005
  15. Pase, C.P. and Brown, D.E. (1994), "Californian coastal scrub", Biotic Communities: Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.A.
  16. Polprasert, C., Khatiwada, N.R. and Bhurtel, J. (1998), "Design model for COD removal in constructed wetlands based on biofilm activity", J. Environ. Eng., 124(9), 838-843. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(1998)124:9(838)
  17. Prochnicki, P. (2005), "The expansion of common reed (Phragmites australis (CAV.) Trin.ex Steud.) in the anastomosing river valley after cessation of agriculture use (Narew River Valley, NE Poland)", Polish J. Ecology, 53(3), 353-364.
  18. Saeed, T. and Sun, G. (2012), "A review on nitrogen and organics removal mechanisms in subsurface flow constructed weltnads: Dependency on environmental parameters, operationg conditions and supporting media", J. Environ. Manag., 112, 429-448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.08.011
  19. Thullen, J.S., Sartoris, J.J. and Walton, W.E. (2002), "Effects of vegetation management in constructed wetland treatment cells on water quality and mosquito production", Ecolog. Eng., 18, 441-457. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-8574(01)00105-7
  20. Toth, L.A. and Galloway, J.P. (2009), "Clonal expansion of Cattail (Typha domingensis) in everglades stormwater treatment areas: Implications for alternative management strategies", J. Aquatic Plant Manage, 47, 151-155.
  21. USEPA (1999), "Free water surface wetlands for wastewater treatment: A technology assessment", 832-S-99-002; Office of Wastewater Management, United States Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.A.
  22. USEPA (2004), "Constructed treatment wetlands", 843-F-03-013; Office of Wastewater Management, United States Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.A.
  23. Vymazal, J. (2013), "Emergent plants used in free water surface constructed wetlands: A review", Ecolog. Eng., 61(B), 582-592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.06.023
  24. Warren, R.S., Fell, P.E., Grimsby, J.L., Buck, E.L., Rilling G.C. and Fertik, R.A. (2001), "Rates, patterns, and impacts of Phragmites australis expansion and effects of experimental Phragmites control on vegetation, macroinvertebrates, and fish within tidelands of the lower Connecticut River", Estuaries, 24(1), 90-107. https://doi.org/10.2307/1352816
  25. Wilcox, D.A., Apfelbaum, S.I. and Hiebert, R.D. (1984), "Cattail invasion of sedge meadows following hydrologic disturbance in the Cowles Bog wetland complex, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore", Wetlands, 4(1), 115-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160491
  26. Wildung, R.E., Schmidt, R.E. and Routson R.C. (1977), "The phosphorus status of eutrophic lake sediments as related to changes in limnological conditions-Phosphorus mineral components", J. Environ. Quality, 6(1), 100-104. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1977.00472425000600010022x
  27. Yi, Q., Hur, C. and Kim, Y. (2009), "Modelling nitrogen removal in water hyacinth ponds receiving effluent from waste stabilization ponds", Ecolog. Eng., 35(1), 75-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2008.09.012

Cited by

  1. Nitrate availability affects denitrification in Phragmites australis sediments vol.49, pp.1, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20000
  2. Modeling of biofilm growth and the related changes in hydraulic properties of porous media vol.12, pp.5, 2019, https://doi.org/10.12989/mwt.2021.12.5.217