Effect of the Influent Substrate Concentration on Nitrogen Removal from Summer to Winter in Field Pilot-Scale Multistage Constructed Wetland–Pond Systems for Treating Low-C/N River Water

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 13; no. 22; p. 12456
• Main Authors: Wang, Tao, Xiao, Liping, Lu, Hongbin, Lu, Shaoyong, Zhao, Xiaoliang, Liu, Fuchun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.11.2021
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Ammonia; Artificial wetlands; Carbon; Carbon sources; Carbon/nitrogen ratio; Chemical oxygen demand; Climate change; Efficiency; Effluents; Estuaries; Microorganisms; Nitrogen; Nitrogen removal; Organic matter; Oxidation; Oxidation ponds; Planting density; Pollutant removal; Pollutants; Pond construction; Ponds; Ratios; Rivers; Storm seepage; Substrates; Summer; Surface flow; Surface water; Waste stabilization ponds; Water purification; Water quality; Water treatment; Wetlands; Winter; China
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su132212456

The quality of micropolluted water is unstable and its substrate concentration fluctuates greatly. The goal is to predict the concentration effect on the treatment of nitrogen in a river with an actual low C/N ratio for the proposed full-scale Xiaoyi River estuary wetland, so that the wetland project can operate stably and perform the water purification function effectively in the long term. Two pilot-scale multistage constructed wetland–pond (MCWP) systems (S1 and S2, respectively) based on actual engineering with the same “front ecological oxidation ponds, two-stage horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands and surface flow constructed wetlands (SFCWs) as the core and postsubmerged plant ponds” as the planned process were constructed to investigate the effect of different influent permanganate indexes (CODMn) and total nitrogen (TN) contents on nitrogen removal from micropolluted river water with a fixed C/N ratio from summer to winter in the field. The results indicate that the TN removal rate in the S1 and S2 systems was significant (19.56% and 34.84%, respectively). During the process of treating this micropolluted water with a fixed C/N ratio, the influent of S2 with a higher CODMn concentration was conducive to the removal of TN. The TN removal rate in S2 was significantly affected by the daily highest temperature. There was significant nitrogen removal efficiency in the SFCWs. The C/N ratio was a major determinant influencing the nitrogen removal rate in the SFCWs. The organic matter release phenomenon in SFCWs with high-density planting played an essential role in alleviating the lack of carbon sources in the influent. This research strongly supports the rule that there is seasonal nitrogen removal in the MCWPs under different influent substrate concentrations, which is of guiding significance for practical engineering.