Greenhouse gases emissions and carbon budget estimation in horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands with different plant species.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are pivotal for wastewater treatment due to their high efficiency and numerous advantages. The impact of plant species and diversity on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from CWs requires a more comprehensive evaluation. Moreover, controversial perspectives persist about whether CWs function as carbon sinks or sources. In this study, horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) CWs vegetated with Cyperus alternifolius, Typhae latifolia, Acorus calamus, and the mixture of these three species were constructed to evaluate pollutant removal efficiencies and GHG emissions, and estimate carbon budgets. Polyculture CWs can stably remove COD (86.79 %), NH4+-N (97.41 %), NO3--N (98.55 %), and TP (98.48 %). They also mitigated global warming potential (GWP) by suppressing N2O emissions compared with monoculture CWs. The highest abundance of the Pseudogulbenkiania genus, crucial for denitrification, was observed in polyculture CWs, indicating that denitrification dominated in nitrogen removal. While the highest nosZ copy numbers were observed in CWs vegetated with Cyperus alternifolius, suggesting its facilitation of denitrification-related microbes. Selecting Cyperus alternifolius to increase species diversity is proposed for simultaneously maintaining the water purification capacity and reducing GHG emissions. Carbon budget estimations revealed that all four types of HSSF CWs were carbon sinks after six months of operation, with carbon accumulation capacity of 4.90 ± 1.50 (Cyperus alternifolius), 3.31 ± 2.01 (Typhae latifola), 1.78 ± 1.30 (Acorus calamus), and 2.12 ± 0.88 (polyculture) kg C/m2/yr. This study implies that under these operation conditions, CWs function as carbon sinks rather than sources, aligning with carbon peak and neutrality objectives and presenting significant potential for carbon reduction efforts.

Assessment of Typha capensis for the remediation of soil contaminated with As, Hg, Cd and Pb.

The use of macrophytes has been identified as one of the eco-friendly means of remediating soils contaminated with heavy metal(loid)s. This study sought to ascertain the synergistic influences of Hg, As, Cd and Pb on the uptake capacity of Typha capensis in remediating soils contaminated with these pollutants. Uptake of Hg, As, Cd and Pb by this aquatic plant species in metal(loid)-contaminated water and soil was studied in batch culture experiment. The plants were irrigated with standard heavy metal(loid)-simulated solutions. After 20, 40 and 60 days, plant samples were subjected to heavy metal(loid) analysis by a Unicam 969 atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS). The macrophytes were able to remediate all the four selected heavy metal(loid)s when they either existed as individual or when all the four were in the solution; however, the level of uptake by the plant was inhibited when either two of the heavy metals existed in the solution. Typha capensis performs better in the absorption of mercury, arsenic, cadmium and lead in large quantities from polluted water and soil.

Remediation of mercury-polluted soils using artificial wetlands.

Mexico's mercury mining industry is important for economic development, but has unfortunately contaminated soils due to open-air disposal. This case was seen at two sites in the municipality of Pinal de Amoles, State of Queretaro, Mexico. This paper presents an evaluation of mercury dynamics and biogeochemistry in two soils (mining waste soil) using ex-situ wetlands over 36 weeks. In soils sampled in two former mines of Pinal de Amoles, initial mercury concentrations were 424 ± 29 and 433 ± 12 mg kg-1 in La Lorena and San Jose, former mines, respectively. Typha latifolia and Phragmites australis were used and 20 reactors were constructed (with and without plants). The reactors were weekly amended with a nutrient solution (NPK), for each plant, at a pH of 5.0. For remediation using soils from San Jose 70-78% of mercury was removed in T. latifolia reactors and 76-82% in P. australis reactors, and for remediation of soils from La Lorena, mercury content was reduced by 55-71% using T. latifolia and 58-66% in P. australis reactors. Mercury emissions into the atmosphere were estimated to be 2-4 mg m-2 h-1 for both soils.

Effects of plant biomass on nitrogen transformation in subsurface-batch constructed wetlands: a stable isotope and mass balance assessment.

Nitrate is commonly found in the influent of subsurface-batch constructed wetlands (SSB CWs) used for tertiary wastewater treatments. To understand the effects of plants and the litter on nitrate removal, as well as on nitrogen transformation in SSB CWs, six laboratory-scale SSB CW microcosms were set up in duplicate and were operated as batch systems with hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 5d. The presence of Typha latifolia enhanced nitrate removal in SSB CWs, and the N removed by plant uptake was mainly stored in aboveground biomass. Typha litter addition greatly improved nitrate removal in SSB CWs through continuous input of labile organic carbon, and calculated enrichment factors (ε) were between -12.1‰--13.9‰ from the nitrogen stable isotope analysis, suggesting that denitrification plays a dominant role in the N removal. Most significantly, simultaneous sulfur-based autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification was observed in CWs. Finally, mass balance showed that denitrification, sedimentation burial and plant uptake respectively contributed 54%-94%, 1%-46% and 7.5%-14.3% to the N removal in CWs.