Microplastics removal mechanisms in constructed wetlands and their impacts on nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon) removal: A critical review.

Microplastics (MPs) are now prevalent in aquatic ecosystems, prompting the use of constructed wetlands (CWs) for remediation. However, the interaction between MPs and CWs, including removal efficiency, mechanisms, and impacts, remains a subject requiring significant investigation. This review investigates the removal of MPs in CWs and assesses their impact on the removal of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The analysis identifies crucial factors influencing the removal of MPs, with substrate particle size and CWs structure playing key roles. The review highlights substrate retention as the primary mechanism for MP removal. MPs hinder plant nitrogen uptake, microbial growth, community composition, and nitrogen-related enzymes, reducing nitrogen removal in CWs. For phosphorus and carbon removal, adverse effects of MPs on phosphorus elimination are observed, while their impact on carbon removal is minimal. Further research is needed to understand their influence fully. In summary, CWs are a promising option for treating MPs-contaminated wastewater, but the intricate relationship between MPs and CWs necessitates ongoing research to comprehend their dynamics and potential consequences.

Treating carbon-limited wastewater by DWTR and woodchip augmented floating constructed wetlands.

Floating constructed wetlands (FCWs) have attained tremendous popularity for water purification purposes. However, FCW functions establishment in nutrients removal from carbon-limited wastewater, especially in cold weather, is still a challenge. Here, two drinking water treatment residual (DWTR) based biocarriers (B-I: DWTR cakes, B-II: DWTR cakes combined with woodchips) have been augmented into FCW to enhance the nutrients (N and P) removal performance. Compared to the traditional FCW, the intensified FCWs simultaneously achieved higher N and P removal efficiencies, with average pollutants removal of 52.16 ± 11.51% for TN and 92.72 ± 1.61% for TP in FCW-I and 57.65 ± 9.43% for TN and 92.17 ± 2.55% for TP in FCW-II, respectively, while their removal in FCW-III of 27.74 ± 7.11% for TN and 17.91 ± 9.27% for TP. B-II performed best in overcoming the negative influence of low temperature in nutrients removal. Mass balance budget indicated that most P was enriched in DWTR based biocarriers. Thus it is feasible to recycle and recover P from the surface water. Furthermore, P in the sediment can be changed from active P to stable P, mitigating the internal P release risk. This study can help to expand the understanding of the intensified FCWs and promote the practical application of FCWs.

Effects of plants competition on critical bacteria selection and pollutants dynamics in a long-term polyculture constructed wetland.

The effects of mix planting on the functions of plants, microorganisms, and their interactions were studied in a CW planted with Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis over six years. Findings show notable competition among plant species, with excessive overgrowth of the dominant species (P. australis) over T. orientalis. The excessive outcompeting by P. australis resulted in significantly higher plant density and biomass of 20.1 times and 11.2 times, respectively than that of T. orientalis. Interspecific competition appeared to considerably intensify plants contributions to nitrogen and phosphorus removal, which increased from circa 9% in the first year up to 42% in the sixth year. High-throughput pyrosequencing and network analyses demonstrated that the dominant species stands harbor diverse bacterial communities that could enhance the wetland performance through carbon degradation, nutrient cycling, and supporting plant growth. These results provide useful insights into the interactive effects of plants and bacteria in polyculture constructed wetlands.

Adsorption of phosphorus with calcium alginate beads containing drinking water treatment residual.

Aluminum-based drinking water treatment residuals (DWTR) were encapsulated by alginate to develop a pelletized media (DWTR-CA beads) for phosphorus (P) adsorption. The beads were successfully manufactured to uniform size and shape requirements. The effects of DWTR powder concentration and particle size, and bead mean size on P adsorption, were investigated. The DWTR was found to be an important component in the beads for P adsorption, while the calcium alginate shell contributed little for P adsorption. The maximum P adsorption capacity of the DWTR-CA bead was 19.42 mg P/g wet beads, corresponding to a bead diameter of 3.1 ± 0.2 mm and DWTR concentration of 2% (1% weight/volume (W/V)), mg/mL). The adsorption data fit well with the intra-particle diffusion model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, while both the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms described the adsorption process well. Furthermore, the study on the effect of pH on P adsorption showed that acidic conditions resulted in a better P adsorption and the DWTR-CA beads have the function of pH neutralization. The findings of this study show that the DWTR-CA beads are a promising adsorbent/substrate for P removal.

A comparison of alum sludge with peat for aqueous glyphosate removal for maximizing their value for practical use.

This study compares and contrasts the glyphosate removal efficiency of alum sludge (waterworks residue) and Irish peat in aqueous solution. Organic phosphonate of glyphosate aqueous solution was removed in pot tests separately filled with peat and alum sludge, while effluent samples were taken from each pot to analyse the concentration of phosphorus (P) and COD (chemical oxygen demand); physical and chemical analysis for both media before and after use was carried out subsequently. The results show that the P removal capacity of alum sludge was significant (>99%), while the removal capacity of peat was considerably less than 10% after 10 weeks. Both materials significantly reduced the levels of COD, but it was noted that peat had a marginally greater initial P removal capacity (68 ± 22%) and did perform better than alum sludge (57 ± 12%). Moreover, pre-treatment is a crucial step to harness the full potential of peat. Overall, this study provides a scientific clue for sorbents selection when considering alum sludge and peat to maximize their value in practice.

Recycling of drinking water treatment residue as an additional medium in columns for effective P removal from eutrophic surface water.

This study assesses the feasibility of recycling drinking water treatment residue (DWTR) to treat eutrophic surface water in a one-year continuous flow column test. Heat-treated DWTR was used as an additional medium (2%-4%) in columns in case excessive organic matter and N were released from the DWTR to surface water. The results indicated that with minimal undesirable effects on other water properties, DWTR addition substantially enhanced P removal, rendering P concentrations in treated water oligotrophic and treated water unsuitable for Microcystis aeruginosa breeding. Long-term stable P removal by DWTR-column treatment was mainly attributed to the relatively low P levels in raw water (<0.108 mg L-1) and high P adsorption capability of DWTR, as confirmed by increases in amorphous Al/Fe in DWTR after the tests and low adsorption of P in the mobile forms. The major components of DWTR showed minimal changes, and potential metal pollution from DWTR was not a factor to consider during recycling. DWTR also enriched functional bacterial genera that benefitted biogeochemical cycles and multiple pollution control (e.g., Dechloromonas, Geobacter, Leucobacter, Nitrospira, Rhodoplanes, and Sulfuritalea); an apparent decrease in Mycobacterium with potential pathogenicity was observed in DWTR-columns. Regardless, limited denitrification of DWTR-columns was observed as a result of low bioavailability of C in surface water. This finding indicates that DWTR can be used with other methods to ensure denitrification for enhanced treatment effects. Overall, the use of DWTR as an additional medium in column systems can potentially treat eutrophic surface water.

A fancy eco-compatible wastewater treatment system: Green Bio-sorption Reactor.

A novel concept was proposed and preliminarily investigated by embedding alum sludge-based constructed wetland into conventional activated sludge system in terms of Green Bio-sorption Reactor (GBR). This novel GBR inherited the aesthetic value of constructed wetland and owned the robust phosphorus (P) adsorption along with the benefit of carriers' addition (dewatered alum sludge). The preliminary demonstration was conducted in a lab-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system without biological phosphorus removal process. The novel process achieved averagely 96%, 99% and 90% for BOD, TP and TN removal with piggery wastewater as influent, demonstrating for the first time of its promising performance. Moreover, the coexistence of biofilm and suspended sludge also achieved 55-88% simultaneous nitrification and denitrification efficiency, higher than biofilm only. Overall, alum sludge-based GBR could achieve reliable pollutants removal and provides a novel and sustainable pathway to upgrade conventional activated sludge system.

Embedding constructed wetland in sequencing batch reactor for enhancing nutrients removal: A comparative evaluation.

In the present study, a novel green bio-sorption reactor (GBR) was firstly proposed and preliminarily investigated by embedding constructed wetland (CW) into the aeration tank of the conventional activated sludge (CAS). This integrated novel system owns the striking features of adding carriers of wetland substrate (i.e. the dewatered alum sludge in this case) in CAS for robust phosphorus adsorption and enriching the biomass. Meanwhile, the "green" feature of this GBR imparted aesthetic value of CW to the CAS system. The preliminary 3-month trial of GBR based on a sequencing batch reactor (GB-SBR) with diluted piggery wastewater demonstrated an average removal of 96%, 99% and 90% for BOD, TP and TN, respectively. The comparison with moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reflected the advantages of GBR over purification performance, aesthetic value and potential carbon sink. Moreover, the carriers used in the GBR are dewatered alum sludge which is in line with the policy of "recycle, reuse and reduce". Overall, this GBR undoubtedly offered a more sustainable and economical solution for retrofitting the aging CAS.

Effects of rapid temperature rising on nitrogen removal and microbial community variation of anoxic/aerobic process for ABS resin wastewater treatment.

ABS resin wastewater is a high-temperature nitrogenous organic wastewater. It can be successfully treated with anoxic/aerobic (A/O) process. In this study, the effect of temperature on nitrogen removal and microbial community after quick temperature rise (QTR) was investigated. It was indicated that QTR from 25 to 30 °C facilitated the microbial growth and achieved a similar effluent quality as that at 25 °C. QTR from 25 to 35 °C or 40 °C resulted in higher effluent concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). Illumina MiSeq pyrosequencing analysis illustrated that the richness and diversity of the bacterial community was decreased as the temperature was increased. The percentage of many functional groups was changed significantly. QTR from 25 to 40 °C also resulted in the inhibition of ammonia oxidation rate and high concentration of free ammonia, which then inhibited the growth of NOB (Nitrospira), and thus resulted in nitrite accumulation. The high temperature above 35 °C promoted the growth of a denitrifying bacterial genus, Denitratisoma, which might increase N2O production during the denitrification process.

Characterizing phosphorus removal from polluted urban river water by steel slags in a vertical flow constructed wetland.

Phosphorus (P) removal in constructed wetlands (CWs) is often low unless special substrates with high sorption capacities are used. However, the use of special substrates in vertical flow (VF) CWs has not been proved to enhance P sorption. Thus, two VF wetlands were designed to evaluate the potential for enhanced P removal from polluted urban river water, one with slag as substrate and the other as a control with gravel as substrate. Findings from batch experiments showed P sorption capacities of 3.15 gP/kg and 0.81 gP/kg, respectively, for steel slag and gravel. Different organic matter fractions played different roles in P sorption, the effects of which were significant only at high concentrations. Over a 220 days' operation, the VF-slag removed 76.0% of the influent total phosphorus (TP) at 0.159 g/m(2)·d and PO4-P of 70.9% at 0.063 g/m(2)·d, whereas the VF-gravel removed 65.0% at 0.136 g/m(2)·d and 48.6% at 0.040 g/m(2)·d, respectively. Therefore, the merit of using a steel slag substrate in VF wetlands can be significant for the removal of PO4-P.

Agricultural runoff pollution control by a grassed swales coupled with wetland detention ponds system: a case study in Taihu Basin, China.

The performance of a field grassed swales (GSs) coupled with wetland detention ponds (WDPs) system was monitored under four typical rainfall events to assess its effectiveness on agricultural runoff pollution control in Taihu Basin, China. The results indicated that suspended solids (SS) derived from the flush process has significant influence on pollution loads in agricultural runoff. Determination of first flush effect (FFE) indicated that total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) exhibited moderate FFE, while chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) showed weak FFE. Average removal efficiencies of 83.5 ± 4.5, 65.3 ± 6.8, 91.6 ± 3.8, and 81.3 ± 5.8 % for TSS, COD, TN, and TP were achieved, respectively. The GSs played an important role in removing TSS and TP and acted as a pre-treatment process to prevent clogging of the subsequent WDPs. Particle size distributions (PSDs) analysis indicated that coarse particles larger than 75 µm accounted for 80 % by weight of the total particles in the runoff. GSs can effectively reduce coarse particles (≥75 µm) in runoff, while its removal efficiency for fine particles (<75 µm) was low, even minus results being recorded, especially for particles smaller than 25 µm. The length of GSs is a key factor in its performance. The WDPs can remove particles of all sizes by sedimentation. In addition, WDPs can improve water quality due to their buffering and dilution capacity during rainfall as well as their water purification ability during dry periods. Overall, the ecological system of GSs coupled with WDPs is an effective system for agricultural runoff pollution control.

Effects of interspecific competition on the growth of macrophytes and nutrient removal in constructed wetlands: A comparative assessment of free water surface and horizontal subsurface flow systems.

The outcome of competition between adjoining interspecific colonies of Phragmites and Typha in two large field pilot-scale free water surface (FWS) and subsurface flow (SSF) CWs is evaluated. According to findings, the effect of interspecific competition was notable for Phragmites australis, whereby it showed the highest growth performance in both FWS and SSF wetland. In a mixed-culture, P. australis demonstrates superiority in terms of competitive interactions for space between plants. Furthermore, the interspecific competition among planted species seemed to cause different ecological responses of plant species in the two CWs. For example, while relatively high density and shoot height determined the high aboveground dry weight of P. australis in the FWS wetland, this association was not evident in the SSF. Additionally, while plants nutrients uptake accounts for a higher proportion of the nitrogen removal in FWS, that in the SSF accounts for a higher proportion of the phosphorous removal.

Performance of a pilot demonstration-scale hybrid constructed wetland system for on-site treatment of polluted urban river water in Northwestern China.

Hybrid constructed wetland (HCW) systems have been used to treat various wastewaters across the world. However, large-scale applications of HCWs are scarce, particularly for on-site improvement of the water quality of highly polluted urban rivers in semi-arid regions. In this study, a large pilot-scale HCW system was constructed to improve the water quality of the Zaohe River in Xi'an, China. With a total area of about 8000 m(2), the pilot HCW system, composed of different configurations of surface and subsurface flow wetlands, was operated for 2 years at an average inflow volume rate of 362 m(3)/day. Local Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis from the riverbank were planted in the HCW system. Findings indicate a higher treatment efficiency for organics and suspended solids than nutrients. The inflow concentrations of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), total nitrogen (TN), NH3-N, and total phosphorus (TP) were 125.6, 350.9, 334.2, 38.5, 27.2, and 3.9 mg/L, respectively. Average removal efficiencies of 94.4, 74.5, 92.0, 56.3, 57.5, and 69.2%, respectively, were recorded. However, the pollutant removal rates were highly seasonal especially for nitrogen. Higher removals were recorded for all pollutants in the autumn while significantly lower removals were recorded in the winter. Plant uptake and assimilation accounted for circa 19-29 and 16-23% of the TN and TP removal, respectively. Moreover, P. australis demonstrated a higher nutrient uptake ability and competitive potential. Overall, the high efficiency of the pilot HCW for improving the water quality of such a highly polluted urban river provided practical evidence of the applicability of the HCW technology for protecting urban water environments.

Operating a two-stage microbial fuel cell-constructed wetland for fuller wastewater treatment and more efficient electricity generation.

By integrating microbial fuel cells (MFCs) into constructed wetlands (CWs) the need and cost of building a reactor are eliminated, while CWs provide the simultaneous redox conditions required for optimum MFC performance. Two single-stage MFC-CWs, with dewatered alum sludge cake as the main wetland medium for enhanced phosphorus removal, were operated to determine the effects of electrode separation and flow regimes on power production and wastewater treatment. When the anode is buried and the cathode is at the air-water interface the system is inhibited by a large ohmic resistance resulting from the increased electrode separation. By placing the cathode directly above the anode and operating the system with simultaneous up-flow into the anode and down-flow into the cathode the ohmic resistance is reduced. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency was, however, reduced to 64% (compared with 79%). A two-stage system was subsequently run for fuller wastewater treatment and increased power production. The results indicate that a two-stage MFC-CW can increase the normalized energy recovery and improve removal efficiencies of COD, total nitrogen, NH4⁺, total phosphorus and reactive phosphorus to 93 ± 1.7%, 85 ± 5.2%, 90 ± 5.4%, 98 ± 5.3% and 99 ± 2.9%, respectively.

Key issues to consider when using alum sludge as substrate in constructed wetland.

Globally, alum sludge is an easily, locally and largely available by-product from water treatment plants where aluminium sulphate is used as the coagulant for raw water purification. Owing to the high content of Al ions (29.7±13.3% dry weight) in alum sludge and the strong affinity of Al ions to adsorb various pollutants especially phosphorus (P), alum sludge (in the form of dewatered cakes) has been investigated in recent years as a low-cost alternative substrate in constructed wetland (CW) systems to enhance the treatment efficiency especially for high strength P-containing wastewater. Long-term trials in different scales have demonstrated that the alum sludge-based CW is a promising technique with a two-pronged feature of using 'waste' for wastewater treatment. Alum sludge cakes in CW can serve as a medium for wetland plant growth, as a carrier for biofilm development and as a porous material for wastewater infiltration. After the intensive studies of the alum sludge-based CW system, this paper aims to address the key issues and concerns pertaining to this kind of CW system. These include: (1) Is alum sludge suitable for reuse in CWs? (2) Is Al released from the sludge a concern? (3) What is the lifespan of the alum sludge in CWs? (4) How can P be recovered from the used alum sludge? (5) Does clogging happen in alum sludge-based CW systems and what is the solution?

Functions of slags and gravels as substrates in large-scale demonstration constructed wetland systems for polluted river water treatment.

The choice of substrates with high adsorption capacity, yet readily available and economical is vital for sustainable pollutants removal in constructed wetlands (CWs). Two identical large-scale demonstration horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) CWs (surface area, 340 m(2); depth, 0.6 m; HLR, 0.2 m/day) with gravel or slag substrates were evaluated for their potential use in remediating polluted urban river water in the prevailing climate of northwest China. Batch experiments to elucidate phosphorus adsorption mechanisms indicated a higher adsorption capacity of slag (3.15 g/kg) than gravel (0.81 g/kg), whereby circa 20 % more total phosphorus (TP) removal was recorded in HSSF-slag than HSSF-gravel. TP removal occurred predominantly via CaO-slag dissolution followed by Ca phosphate precipitation. Moreover, average removals of chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand were approximately 10 % higher in HSSF-slag than HSSF-gravel. Nevertheless, TP adsorption by slag seemed to get quickly saturated over the monitoring period, and the removal efficiency of the HSSF-slag approached that of the HSSF-gravel after 1-year continuous operation. In contrast, the two CWs achieved similar nitrogen removal during the 2-year monitoring period. Findings also indicated that gravel provided better support for the development of other wetland components such as biomass, whereby the biomass production and the amount of total nitrogen (TN; 43.1-59.0 g/m(2)) and TP (4.15-5.75 g/m(2)) assimilated by local Phragmites australis in HSSF-gravel were higher than that in HSSF-slag (41.2-52.0 g/m(2) and 3.96-4.07 g/m(2), respectively). Overall, comparable pollutant removal rates could be achieved in large-scale HSSF CWs with either gravel or slag as substrate and provide a possible solution for polluted urban river remediation in northern China.

Characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus removal by a surface-flow constructed wetland for polluted river water treatment.

The characteristics of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal were studied during the 2-year operation of a free water surface flow wetland of 900 m² with hydraulic loading of 0.1 m/d to evaluate its potential to treat water from an urban stream polluted with municipal and industrial wastewater. Attention was focused on the removal of dissolved N and P by harvesting plants (local Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis) at the end of each growing season. According to findings, the removals of N and P increased from 47.1% and 17.6%, respectively, in the 1st year to 52.3% and 32.4%, respectively, in the 2nd year. Increments of N and P removal were largely attributable to plant biomass, which increased from an average dry weight of 1.77 kg/m² in the 1st year to 3.41 kg/m² in the 2nd year. The amount of nutrients assimilated by plants in the 2nd year was almost double that of the 1st year. Increasing biomass in the 2nd year also improved redox conditions in the substrate layer, which contributed to increasing the efficiency of N removal. Compared with T. orientalis, P. australis was more competitive and adapted to conditions in the wetland better; it regenerated more vigorously and contributed more to nutrient removal.

Oil refinery wastewater treatment using physicochemical, Fenton and Photo-Fenton oxidation processes.

The objective of this study was to investigate the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to the treatment of wastewaters contaminated with hydrocarbon oil. Three different oil-contaminated wastewaters were examined and compared: (i) a 'real' hydrocarbon wastewater collected from an oil refinery (Conoco-Phillips Whitegate refinery, County Cork, Ireland); (ii) a 'real' hydrocarbon wastewater collected from a car-wash facility located at a petroleum filling station; and (iii) a 'synthetic' hydrocarbon wastewater generated by emulsifying diesel oil and water. The AOPs investigated were Fe(2+)/H(2)O(2) (Fenton's reagent), Fe(2+)/H(2)O(2)/UV (Photo-Fenton's reagent) which may be used as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, conventional treatment techniques. Laboratory-scale batch and continuous-flow experiments were undertaken. The photo-Fenton parametric concentrations to maximize COD removal were optimized: pH = 3, H(2)O(2) = 400 mg/L, and Fe(2+) = 40 mg/L. In the case of the oil-refinery wastewater, photo-Fenton treatment achieved approximately 50% COD removal and, when preceded by physicochemical treatment, the percentage removal increased to approximately 75%.

Constructed wetlands using aluminium-based drinking water treatment sludge as P-removing substrate: should aluminium release be a concern?

This study investigated an important issue of aluminium (Al) release from a novel reuse of Al-based water treatment sludge (Al-WTS) in constructed wetland system (CWs) as alternative substrate for wastewater treatment. Al-WTS is an inevitable by-product of drinking water treatment plants that use Al-salt as coagulant for raw water purification. It has recently been demonstrated that Al-WTS can be reused as a low-cost phosphorus (P) adsorbent and biofilm carrier in CWs for wastewater treatment. However, to facilitate the large scale application of Al-WTS in CWs as wetland substrate, concerns about Al leaching during its reuse in CWs must be addressed as Al is a dominant constituent in Al-WTS. In this study, a desk review of literature on Al release during Al-WTS reuse was conducted. Furthermore, a 42-week Al monitoring was carried out on a pilot field-scale CWs employing Al-WTS as main substrate. Results show that 22 out of the 35 studies reviewed, reported Al release with levels of soluble Al reported ranging from 0.01 to about 20 mg L(-1). Monitoring of Al in the pilot field-scale CWs shows that there was Al leaching. However, except for the first three weeks of operation, effluents concentrations of both total- and soluble-Al were all below the general regulatory guideline limit of 0.2 mg L(-1). Overall, the study addresses a vital concern regarding the successful application of Al-WTS in CWs and shows that Al release during such novel reuse is quite low and should not preclude its use.