Nitrous oxide, dinitrogen and methane emission in a subsurface flow constructed wetland

2003 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ü Mander ◽  
V. Kuusemets ◽  
K. Lõhmus ◽  
T. Mauring ◽  
S. Teiter ◽  
...  

N2O, N2 and CH4 fluxes were measured from a horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetland (CW) for wastewater treatment in Estonia. The closed chamber method was used in the field and the He-O method (intact soil core analyses) in the lab throughout the period from October 2001 to June 2002. The average flux of N2O-N, N2-N and CH4-C from various microsites ranged from 0.1 to 59, 4.1 to 1,458 and -0.04 to 2,094 mg m-2 d-1, respectively. A significantly higher flux of N2O was found in chambers installed above the inlet pipes, while the methane flux was higher in the inlet part of the bed with wetter conditions. The groundwater table significantly correlates with gas emission rates of all the gases studied; N2 emission was enhanced by higher temperature of wastewater. PO43- and NH4+ content significantly enhanced, and NO2- and NO3- content inhibited, both N2O and CH4 fluxes. NH4+ showed a negative correlation with N2 flux. Nitrification and denitrification are the main processes of the N removal in the CW covering 42.9%. The specific global warming potential was highest in the wet bed and lowest in the dry bed with lowered water table (32 and 9 g CO2 pe-1 d-1, respectively).

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Sikora ◽  
Tong Zhu ◽  
L. L. Behrends ◽  
S. L. Steinberg ◽  
H. S. Coonrod

From June 1993 through February 1994, the removal of NH4-N was evaluated in constructed wetlands at the TVA constructed wetland research facility in Muscle Shoals, AL. The objectives were to determine rates for NH4-N removal and speculate on potential mechanisms for removal. Nine constructed wetland cells were used with approximate dimensions of 9.1 × 6.1 × 0.6 m3 and a recirculating subsurface flow system in a gravel base. Treatments consisted of an unplanted (WO=control) and two polycultural planting schemes (P1=Scirpus acutus, Phragmites communis and Phalaris arundinacea; P2=Typha sp., Scirpus atrovirens georgianus and Scirpus cyperinus) replicated 3 times. Salt solutions were added and recirculated in each cell resulting in initial concentrations of 50 and 300 mg l−1 of NH4-N and COD, respectively, when fully diluted with wetland water. Salts were added to wetlands approximately every 6 weeks with the first addition on June 1, 1993 and the last addition on February 9, 1994 for a total of 6 time periods (times I, II, III, IV, V and VI). The COD of the waters was removed at rates ranging from 5.5 to 10 g/m2/d during times I through IV with no discernible difference amongst the planting treatments. Wetland cells with P1 were more efficient at removing NH4-N (1.1 g/m2/d) than P2 (0.6 g/m2/d) or WO (0.5 g/m2/d) at time I with differences decreasing by time IV (0.3 to 0.7 g/m2/d). During the winter (times V and VI), there were no differences in NH4-N removal amongst planting treatments with an average removal rate of 0.35 g/m2/d. There was a seasonal change in NH4-N removal in all the treatments, with the change most noticeable in the planted cells. The removal of NH4-N in WO was speculated to be due to a combination of sorption onto gravel, microbial assimilation, and nitrification at the air-water interface. The extra NH4-N removal in the planted cells diminished in the winter because the removal was most likely due to a combination of enhanced nitrification from O2 transport and NH4-N uptake mediated by seasonal macrophyte growth.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 499-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.A. Meutia

Wastewater treatment by constructed wetland is an appropriate technology for tropical developing countries like Indonesia because it is inexpensive, easily maintained, and has environmentally friendly and sustainable characteristics. The aim of the research is to examine the capability of constructed wetlands for treating laboratory wastewater at our Center, to investigate the suitable flow for treatment, namely vertical subsurface or horizontal surface flow, and to study the effect of the seasons. The constructed wetland is composed of three chambered unplanted sedimentation tanks followed by the first and second beds, containing gravel and sand, planted with Typha sp.; the third bed planted with floating plant Lemna sp.; and a clarifier with two chambers. The results showed that the subsurface flow in the dry season removed 95% organic carbon (COD) and total phosphorus (T-P) respectively, and 82% total nitrogen (T-N). In the transition period from the dry season to the rainy season, COD removal efficiency decreased to 73%, T-N increased to 89%, and T-P was almost the same as that in the dry season. In the rainy season COD and T-N removal efficiencies increased again to 95% respectively, while T-P remained unchanged. In the dry season, COD and T-P concentrations in the surface flow showed that the removal efficiencies were a bit lower than those in the subsurface flow. Moreover, T-N removal efficiency was only half as much as that in the subsurface flow. However, in the transition period, COD removal efficiency decreased to 29%, while T-N increased to 74% and T-P was still constant, around 93%. In the rainy season, COD and T-N removal efficiencies increased again to almost 95%. On the other hand, T-P decreased to 76%. The results show that the constructed wetland is capable of treating the laboratory wastewater. The subsurface flow is more suitable for treatment than the surface flow, and the seasonal changes have effects on the removal efficiency.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Yangjie Li ◽  
Dongqi Wang ◽  
Zhenlou Chen ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Hong Hu ◽  
...  

Methane (CH4) emissions from estuarine wetlands were proved to be influenced by tide movement and inundation conditions notably in many previous studies. Although there have been several researches focusing on the seasonal or annual CH4 emissions, the short-term CH4 emissions during the tide cycles were rarely studied up to now in this area. In order to investigate the CH4 emission pattern during a tide cycle in Yangtze Estuary salt marshes, frequent fixed-point observations of methane flux were carried out using the in-situ static closed chamber technique. The results indicated that the daily average CH4 fluxes varied from 0.68 mgCH4·m−2·h−1 to 4.22 mgCH4·m−2·h−1 with the average flux reaching 1.78 mgCH4·m−2·h−1 from small tide to spring tide in summer. CH4 fluxes did not show consistent variation with both tide levels and inundation time but increased steadily during almost the whole research period. By Pearson correlation analysis, CH4 fluxes were not correlated with both tide levels (R = −0.014, p = 0.979) and solar radiation (R = 0.024, p = 0.865), but significantly correlated with ambient temperature. It is temperature rather than the tide level mainly controlling CH4 emissions during the tide cycles. Besides, CH4 fluxes also showed no significant correlation with the underground pore-water CH4 concentrations, indicating that plant-mediated transport played a more important role in CH4 fluxes compared with its production and consumption.


1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin D. White

Constructed wetland technology is currently evolving into an acceptable, economically competitive alternative for many wastewater treatment applications. Although showing great promise for removing carbonaceous materials from wastewater, wetland systems have not been as successful at nitrification. This is primarily due to oxygen limitations. Nitrification does occur in conventional wetland treatment systems, but typically requires long hydraulic retention times. This paper describes a study that first evaluated the capability of subsurface flow constructed wetlands to treat a high strength seafood processor wastewater and then evaluated passive aeration configurations and effluent recirculation with respect to nitrogen treatment efficiency. The first stage of a 2-stage wetland treatment system exhibited a relatively short hydraulic retention time and was designed for BOD removal only. The second stage wetland employed an unsaturated inlet zone and effluent recirculation to enhance nitrification. Results indicate that organic loading, and thus BOD removal, in the first stage wetland is key to optimal nitrification. Passive aeration through an unsaturated inlet zone and recirculation achieved up to 65-70 per cent ammonia nitrogen removal at hydraulic retention times of about 3.5 days. Inlet zone configuration and effluent recirculation is shown to enhance the nitrogen removal capability of constructed wetland treatment systems.


2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 1323-1330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Anic Vucinic ◽  
Jasna Hrenovic ◽  
Predrag Tepes

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