Influence of earthworm presence and hydraulic loading rate on the performance of vertical flow constructed wetlands.

In order to know the behaviour and performance of a vertical flow constructed wetland (VF-CW) operating with earthworm, this study evaluated the earthworm presence linked to hydraulic loading rates applied for domestic wastewater treatment. Two VF-CW units (710 cm², 0.75 m deep, with sand as filter media and planted with Heliconia rostrata) operated with a variable hydraulic and organic loadings rates (200 mm d-1/123 g COD m-2 d-1; 280 mm d-1/186 g COD m-2 d-1; 160 mm d-1/94 g COD m-2 d-1). Although the efficiency of COD load removal was similar (around 70%) for both CWs, the efficiency of total nitrogen load removal was around 95% throughout the evaluated period. The nitrification-denitrification process was identified with and without the presence of earthworm. VF-CW with earthworms showed higher hydraulic conductivity values (from 0.11 to 0.14 m h-1) compared with the VF-CW wetland without earthworms (0.07-0.09 m h-1). This study showed that the use of earthworms in CWs can be associated mainly with a preventive measure of clogging, which requires measures to maintain earthworms inside the bed media. Additionally, the earthworm presence has an ingestion mechanism of organic and inorganic solid particles in wastewater which excretes them as finer particles.

Feeding mode influence on treatment performance of unsaturated and partially saturated vertical flow constructed wetland.

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of two different feeding modes on wastewater treatment performance and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of the unsaturated (UVF wetland) and partially saturated (SVF wetland) vertical flow constructed wetlands operated in parallel under subtropical climate for four years. Each wetland had a superficial area of 7.5 m2 and was planted with Typha domingensis. Both units have a filter media depth of 0.75 m, composed by sand (effective diameter of 0.29 mm and uniformity of 4). UVF wetland operated typically unsaturated, while SVF wetland had the bottom part saturated (57% of total depth). Two feeding modes were evaluated for both wetlands. The feeding mode was operated within the limits recommended by the German standard, with a hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of 75 mm d-1 and specific pulse volume (SPV) of 19 L m-2 for both wetlands and a specific hydraulic loading rate (SHLR) of 8 and 9 L m-2 min-1 for UVF and SVF wetlands, respectively. Meanwhile, the second feeding mode was applied for both wetlands, being an HLR of 103 mm d-1, 26 L m-2 of SPV, and 4 L m-2 min-1 of SHLR. The load removal efficiency of SVF wetland was higher than the UVF wetland for all parameters and feeding modes. No statistical difference was identified for OCR values between wetlands and feeding mode. The results showed that operating UVF and SVF wetlands with a SHLR around 4 L m-2 min-1 and SPV equal of 26 L m-2 is preferable. This fact could represent a significant reduction in inlet pumping power requirements and also less superficial area requirements.

Influence of the flooded time on the performance of a tidal flow constructed wetland treating urban stream water.

A vertical subsuperficial tidal flow constructed wetland (TFCW) operated under flooded time (FT) variation, was evaluated in the removal of carbonaceous, nitrogenous, and phosphorous matter from urban stream water. The TFCW downflow (117 L) was filled with bricks (44% porosity) and vegetated with Althernanthera philoxeroides (32 plants m-2). The TFCW was operated under different flooded times - Stage A (48 h), B (36 h), C (24 h), and D (12 h), organic loading rates of 19.58-43.83 gCOD m-2 d-1, 3.68-6.94 gTN m-2 d-1 and 0.93-2.00 gTP m-2 d-1 and volumetric load rates of 46.8, 58.5, 78.0 and 11.7 L d-1. No significant differences were observed in the removal efficiencies to Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD 66 to 94%), Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN 58 to 87%), and Total Nitrogen (TN 53 to 78%) among the stages, and nitrate concentrations lower than 6 mg L-1 in the effluent. High Total Phosphorus removal was obtained in FT of 48 h (TP 79%). Total phosphorus loading rate was a limiting factor in TP removal, which reduced along with the reduction of FT. The nitrifying community was present over time since ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosospira) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrobacter and Nitrospira) were identified in operational stages with variation in relative abundance, but TAN removal efficiency did not show significant differences. There was no change in the denitrifying community structure, indicating that FT did not influence the TN removal. A. philoxeroides was responsible for phytoextraction of 2.1% of TN and 2.7% of TP from the total removed by TFCW. TN removal (65%) was attributed to adsorption in the filtering material and microbial metabolism during the rest time. The findings of this study suggest FT of 12 h to remove COD and TN, and equal to or higher than 48 h to remove TP.

Combined microfiltration and adsorption process applied to public water supply treatment: water quality influence on pesticides removal.

Granular activated carbon (GAC) fixed bed adsorption technology was applied to remove carbamates carbaryl, methomyl and carbofuran from public water supply. In order to minimize the effect of clogging and to evaluate adsorbent saturation for carbamates, the microfiltration (MF) was previously used to adsorb and the backwash procedure of the GAC bed was carried out. The determination and quantification of the carbamates were performed by analytical technique in high performance liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization and fluorescence detector. The MF of the water previously adsorbed in the GAC fixed bed allowed the greater removal of 100% of the carbamates pesticides with an initial concentration of 25 µg L-1 during the first 48 h of operation. The saturation of the GAC fixed bed occurred in 240 h, due to the partial removal of the natural organic matter by the MF, consequently the competition for adsorptive sites of the GAC was smaller. The backwashing procedure contributed to the partial recovery of the performance of the hydraulic filtration and allowed to identify the saturation of the adsorption column, since the sealing phenomenon preceded the saturation. Finally, the use of public water supply was considered a relevant and positive aspect, since it allowed the identification of the performance of this technology in the removal of carbamates pesticides considering the presence of substances inherent to the public water supply.

Does duckweed ponds used for wastewater treatment emit or sequester greenhouse gases?

The reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions is important challenge in the wastewater treatment plants. In this way, the present study aimed to evaluate the GHG emissions and carbon dioxide fixation by duckweed ponds (DWP) applied to treat municipal wastewater in a polishing stage. Two pilot DWP (3000 L) were operated in a series with real wastewater receiving a flow rate of 200 L d-1 and organic load rate of 39 g COD ha-1 d-1. Beyond the standard physicochemical parameters for wastewater monitoring, the gases emissions from pond surface were measures by using a static flux chamber with infrared probes installed inside to detect CO2 and CH4 concentration. Operating the DWP with a load of 18.1 kg TN ha-1 d-1 and 2 kg TP ha-1 d-1, across 425 days of monitoring, higher COD and nutrient removal efficiency was identified (79%, 93% and 84% for COD, TN and TP, respectively). The CO2 emission rate ranged from 3048 to 6017 mg CO2 m-2 d-1 and the fixation rate ranged from 19,592 to 42,052 mg CO2 m-2 d-1. Methane emission was not detected (less than 0.1%). Moreover, low abundance of archaeal community was identified in both DWP. The results showed that in presented conditions, under low COD loading rate DWP could fix at least three times more CO2 than it emits, highlighting the sustainability of this natural technology.

Incorporação de nitrogênio e fósforo no tecido foliar da macrófita Typha domingensis Pers. durante o tratamento de efluente da bovinocultura leiteira em wetlands construídos / Incorporation of nitrogen and phosphorus in the leaves of Typha domingensis Pers. macrophyte during treat dairy cattle wastewater in constructed wetlands

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o desempenho da macrófita Typha domingensis Pers., em diferentes etapas de seu desenvolvimento, na remoção de nitrogênio (N) e fósforo (P) em um wetland construído horizontal (WCH) aplicado no tratamento de efluente de bovinocultura leiteira. Para isso, foi realizado o monitoramento do crescimento e dos teores de N e P no tecido foliar das macrófitas, durante um período de 120 dias de crescimento. A macrófita Typha domingensis Pers. foi responsável por uma remoção média de 5,12 e 3,16% das cargas de N e P aplicadas no WCH, respectivamente. As maiores taxas de remoções de nutrientes (30,2 e 6,4 g P kg-1) foram identificadas quando ocorreram as maiores taxas de crescimento foliar (24,17 cm semana-1).

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of macrophyte Typha domingensis Pers. in different development stages in the nitrogen and phosphorus removal from a horizontal flow constructed wetland (WCH) applied for dairy cattle wastewater treatment. In this way, growth, nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the leaf tissue of macrophytes were monitored during a 120-day growth period. Typha domingensis Pers. macrophyte was responsible for a mean removal of 5.12 and 3.16% of the applied loads in the WCH, for nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. The higher nutriens removal rates (30.2 and 6.4 g P kg-1) were identified when the higher tissue growth rates occurred (24.17 cm week-1).

Influence of hydraulic loading rate and recirculation on oxygen transfer in a vertical flow constructed wetland.

The oxygen transfer rate (OTR) has a significant impact on the design and operation of vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) intended for organic matter removal and nitrification. Despite its key role, the information on real oxygen input in VFCWs is limited, being usually estimated by mass balance (stoichiometry), through which is calculated only the oxygen consumption rate (OCR). In this study, for the first time, the gas tracer method was applied to evaluate the oxygen transfer capacity of a real-scale VFCW (24.5 m2) applied to the treatment of domestic wastewater. Propane was used as tracer. The OCR and the OTR were evaluated in VFCW under hydraulic loading rates (HLR) of 60, 90, and 120 mm d-1 corresponding to recirculation rations of 0%, 50%, and 100%. The OTR in standard conditions (20 °C) ranged from 120 to 176 g O2 m-2 d-1. The highest OTR was found for the lowest HLR. For the operating conditions tested, the OTR obtained with gas tracer were higher than the OCR calculated by stoichiometry in VFCW, which ranged from 20.6 to 27.8 g O2 m-2 d-1. Besides, the OTR were sufficient to satisfy the VFCW oxygen demand for organic matter removal and nitrification. These results show that the gas tracer method for OTR determination may allow advances on the understanding of treatment processes and on the design of new VFCWs since its treatment performance requires aerobic conditions.

Effects of partially saturated conditions on the metabolically active microbiome and on nitrogen removal in vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands.

Nitrogen dynamics and its association to metabolically active microbial populations were assessed in two vertical subsurface vertical flow (VF) wetlands treating urban wastewater. These VF wetlands were operated in parallel with unsaturated (UVF) and partially saturated (SVF) configurations. The SVF wetland exhibited almost 2-fold higher total nitrogen removal rate (5 g TN m-2 d-1) in relation to the UVF wetland (3 g TN m-2 d-1), as well as a low NOx-N accumulation (1 mg L-1 vs. 26 mg L-1 in SVF and UVF wetland effluents, respectively). After 6 months of operation, ammonia oxidizing prokaryotes (AOP) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) displayed an important role in both wetlands. Oxygen availability and ammonia limiting conditions promoted shifts on the metabolically active nitrifying community within 'nitrification aggregates' of wetland biofilms. Ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and Nitrospira spp. overcame ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in the oxic layers of both wetlands. Microbial quantitative and diversity assessments revealed a positive correlation between Nitrobacter and AOA, whereas Nitrospira resulted negatively correlated with Nitrobacter and AOB populations. The denitrifying gene expression was enhanced mainly in the bottom layer of the SVF wetland, in concomitance with the depletion of NOx-N from wastewater. Functional gene expression of nitrifying and denitrifying populations combined with the active microbiome diversity brought new insights on the microbial nitrogen-cycling occurring within VF wetland biofilms under different operational conditions.

Unraveling the active microbial populations involved in nitrogen utilization in a vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland treating urban wastewater.

The dynamics of the active microbial populations involved in nitrogen transformation in a vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland (VF) treating urban wastewater was assessed. The wetland (1.5m2) operated under average loads of 130gCODm-2d-1 and 17gTNm-2d-1 in Period I, and 80gCODm-2d-1 and 19gTNm-2d-1 in Period II. The hydraulic loading rate (HLR) was 375mmd-1 and C/N ratio was 2 in both periods. Samples for microbial characterization were collected from the filter medium (top and bottom layers) of the wetland, water influent and effluent at the end of Periods I (Jun-Oct) and II (Nov-Jan). The combination of qPCR and high-throughput sequencing (NGS, MiSeq) assessment at DNA and RNA level of 16S rRNA genes and nitrogen-based functional genes (amoA and nosZ-clade I) revealed that nitrification was associated both with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (Nitrosospira) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) (Nitrososphaeraceae), and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) such as Nitrobacter. Considering the active abundance (based in amoA transcripts), the AOA population revealed to be more stable than AOB in both periods and depths of the wetland, being less affected by the organic loading rate (OLR). Although denitrifying bacteria (nosZ copies and transcripts) were actively detected in all depths, the denitrification process was low (removal of 2gTNm-2d-1 for both periods) concomitant with NOx-N accumulation in the effluent. Overall, AOA, AOB and denitrifying bacteria (nosZ) were observed to be more active in bottom than in top layer at lower OLR (Period II). A proper design of OLR and HLR seems to be crucial to control the activity of microbial biofilms in VF wetlands on the basis of oxygen, organic-carbon and NOx-N forms, to improve their capacity for total nitrogen removal.

Enhancement of total nitrogen removal through effluent recirculation and fate of PPCPs in a hybrid constructed wetland system treating urban wastewater.

The effect of effluent recirculation on the removal of total nitrogen (TN) and eight pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) was evaluated during 9months in an experimental hybrid constructed wetland (CW) system applied in the treatment of urban wastewater. An Imhoff tank was followed by three stages of CWs (two 1.5-m2 vertical subsurface flow (VF) beds alternating feed-rest cycles, a 2-m2 horizontal (HF) and a 2-m2 free water surface (FWS) wetland in series). A fraction of the final effluent was recycled back to the Imhoff tank with a recirculation rate of 50% (hydraulic loading rate=0.37md-1). The system's performance varied throughout the study. In Period I (summer) consistently high load removal efficiencies of TN (89±5%) and a removal rate of 6.6±1.4gTNm-2d-1 were exhibited. In Period II (fall), the poor performance of the FWS during the senescence of macrophytes caused a large increase in organic matter, solids and nutrient concentrations, drastically deteriorating water quality. The determination of PPCPs was conducted during this period. Recalcitrant compounds, namely sulfamethoxazole, carbamazapine, TCEP and sucralose were negligibly removed in all CWs. However, noteworthy was the ≈30% removal of sucralose in the VF wetland. Caffeine (80%) and fluoxetine (27%) showed similar elimination rates in both VF and HF units, whereas trimethoprim and DEET were significantly better removed in the VF than in the HF. The concentration of the four latter compounds showed a severe increase in the FWS, indicating possible desorption from the sediment/biomass during adverse conditions. Harvesting of the aboveground biomass in this unit returned the system's performance back to normality (Period III), achieving 77±7% TN removal despite the winter season, proving effluent recirculation as an effective strategy for TN removal in hybrid CW systems when stringent restrictions are in place.

Nitrogen transforming bacteria within a full-scale partially saturated vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland treating urban wastewater.

The aim of this study was to characterize the nitrogen transforming bacterial communities within a partially saturated vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland (VF) treating urban wastewater in southern Brazil. The VF had a surface area of 3144m2, and was divided into four wetland cells, out of which two were operated while the other two rested, alternating cycles of 30days. The nitrifying and denitrifying bacterial communities were characterized in wetland cell 3 (764m2 surface area) over a period of 12months by using the FISH technique. Samples were collected monthly (from Feb 2014 to Feb 2015) from different layers within the vertical profile, during operation and rest periods, comprising a total of 6 sampling campaigns while the cell was in operation and another 6 when the cell was at rest. This wetland cell operated with an average organic loading rate (OLR) of 4gCODm-2d-1 and a hydraulic loading rate of 24.5mmd-1. The rest periods of the wetland cell presented influences on the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (8% and 3% for feed and rest periods, respectively), and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) (5% and 2% for feed and rest periods, respectively). However, there was no influence of the rest periods on the denitrifying bacteria. AOB were only identified in the top layer (AOB ß-proteobacteria) in both operational and rest periods. On the other hand, the NOB (Nistrospirae and Nitrospina gracilis) were identified in feed periods just in the top layer and during rest periods just in the intermediate layer. The denitrifying bacteria (Pseudomonas spp. and Thiobacillus denitrificans) were identified from the intermediate layer downwards, and remained stable in both periods. Based on the identified bacterial dynamics, the partially saturated VF wetland operated under low OLR enabled favorable conditions for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification.