Abstract
Four vertical-flow CWs (VFCWs) with different substrates and aeration conditions were studied on nutrient-removal capacity from synthetic wastewater. Zeolite substrate VFCWs (none-aerated: VFCW-1, aerated: VFCW-3) paralleled with ceramsite (none-aerated:VFCW-2, aerated: VFCW-4) were used to study the removal efficiencies of N and organics, the bacterial community, and the related functional genes. The results indicated that the pollutant removal efficiency was significantly enhanced by intermittent aeration. VFCW-4 (ceramsite with aeration) demonstrated a significant potential to remove NH4+-N (89%), NO3–-N (78%), TN (71%), and COD (65%). VFCW-3 and VFCW-4 had high abundances of Amx, amoA, and nirK genes, which was related to NH4+-N and NO2–-N removal. The microbial diversity and structure varied with aeration and substrate conditions. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Candidatus, and Acidobacteria were the main bacteria phyla, with the average proportion of 38%, 21%, 19%, and 7% in the VFCWs. Intermittent aeration increased the abundance of Acidobacteria, which was conducive to the removal of organic matters. Overall, ceramsite substrate combined with intermittent aeration has a great potential in removing pollutants in VFCWs.
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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41877424; 32071559; 51904116), the Research Leader Studio Project (2021GXRC094), the Key R&D project of Shandong Province (2021LZGC005-02–02), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, CHD (300102351505).
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Wenxue Xu: writing—original draft, preparation, formal analysis, investigation, conceptualization. Baoshan Yang: methodology, resources, project administration. Hui Wang: writing—review and editing, conceptualization, resources, funding acquisition, project administration. Shuzhi Wang: methodology and measurement. Feng Li: methodology. Keqin Jiao: validation. Chuanfeng Zhang: validation. Haixia Wang: revision.
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Xu, W., Yang, B., Wang, H. et al. Improving the removal efficiency of nitrogen and organics in vertical-flow constructed wetlands: the correlation of substrate, aeration and microbial activity. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 21683–21693 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23746-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23746-7