Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Performance of the subsurface flow constructed wetlands for pretreatment of slightly polluted source water

  • Published:
Ecotoxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The slightly polluted source water of Yellow River was pretreated in a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSFCW) and a lateral subsurface flow constructed wetland (LSFCW) in the Ji’nan city Reservoir, Shandong, China. During almost one years run, the results showed that at the hydraulic loading rate of 1 m/day, the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), ammonium nitrogen (NH4 +-N) and total phosphorus (TP) in the HSFCW were 48.9, 51.4, 48.7 and 48.9 %, respectively, and the corresponding removal efficiencies in the LSFCW were 50.51, 53.12, 50.44 and 50.83 %, respectively. The HSFCW and LSFCW had a similar high potential for nutrients removal and LSFCW was slightly better. According to the China standard for surface water resources (GB3838-2002), mean effluent COD can reach the Class I (≤15 mg/L), and NH4 +-N and TP and TN can reach nearly the Class I (≤0.015 mg/L), the Class III (≤0.05 mg/L) and the Class IV (≤1.5 mg/L), respectively. It can be concluded that the slightly polluted source water from Reservoir was pretreated well by the constructed wetland.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baker LF, Ciborowski JJH, MacKinnon MD (2012) Petroleum coke and soft tailings sediment in constructed wetlands may contribute to the uptake of trace metals by algae and aquatic invertebrates. Sci Total Environ 414:177–186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bao SD (2005) Analysis of soil agricultural chemistry, vol 3. China Agriculture Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Bubba MD, Arias CA, Brix H (2003) Phosphorus adsorption maximum of sands for use as media in subsurface flow constructed reed beds as measured by the Langmuir isotherm. Water Res 37:390–3400

    Google Scholar 

  • China Environmental State Bulletin: 2011 (2012) Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing

  • Cui F, Yuan B, Wang Y (2011) Constructed wetland as an alternative solution to maintain urban landscape lake water quality: trial of xing-qing lake in Xi’an city. Procedia Environ Sci C 10:2525–2532

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz FJ, O′Geen AT, Dahlgren RA (2012) Agricultural pollutant removal by constructed wetlands: implications for water management and design. Agric Water Manag 104:171–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faulwetter JL, Gagnon V, Sundberg C, Chazarenc F, Burr MD, Brisson J, Camper AK, Stein OR (2009) Microbial processes influencing performance of treatment wetlands: a review. Ecol Eng 35:987–1004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenway M (1997) Nutrient content of wetland plants in constructed wetlands receiving municipal effluent in tropical Australia. Water Sci Technol 35:135–142

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenway M, Woolley A (1999) Constructed wetlands in Queensland: performance efficiency and nutrient bioaccumulation. Ecol Eng 12:39–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenway M, Woolley A (2000) Changes in plant biomass and nutrient removal over 3 years in a constructed free water surface flow wetland in Cairns, Australia. In: Proceedings of the seventh international conference. on wetland systems for water pollution control 2. Lake Buena Vista, FL USA

  • Hallinger KK, Cornell KL, Brasso RL, Cristol DA (2011) Mercury exposure and survival in free-living tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Ecotoxicology 20:39–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hammer DA (1992) Designing constructed wetlands systems to treat agricultural nonpoint source pollution. Ecol Eng 1:49–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauck RD (1984) Atmospheric nitrogen chemistry, nitrification, denitrification, and their relationships. In: Hutzinger O (ed) The handbook of environmental chemistry, vol 1., Part C, the natural environment and biogeochemical cycles.Springer, Berlin, pp 15–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiley P (2003) Performance of wastewater treatment and nutrientremoval wetlands. In: Mander U, Jenssen P (eds) Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in cold climates, (reedbeds) in cold temperature climates. WIT, Southampton, pp 1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt PG, Poach ME (2001) State of the art for animal wastewater treatment in constructed wetlands. Water Sci Technol 44:19–25

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jetten MS, Logemann S, Muyzer G, Robertson LA, Vries SD, Loosdrecht MC, Kuenen JG (1997) Novel principles in the microbial conversion of nitrogen compounds. Antonie van Leeuwonheok 71:75–93

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ji GD, Sun TH, Ni JR (2007) Surface flow constructed wetland for heavy oil-produced water treatment. Biores Technol 98:436–441

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jing SR, Lin YF, Lee DY, Wang TW (2001) Nutrient removal from polluted river water by using constructed wetlands. Biores Technol 76:131–135

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Juang DF, Chen PC (2007) Treatment of polluted river water by a new constructed wetland. Int J Environ Sci Technol l4:481–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight RL, Kadlec RH (1996) Treatment Wetlands. Lewis, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Korkusuz EA, Beklioğlu M, Demirer GN (2005) Comparison of the treatment performances of blast furnace slag-based and gravel-based vertical flow wetlands operated identically for domestic wastewater treatment in Turkey. Ecol Eng 24:185–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozub DD, Liehr SK (1999) Assessing denitrification rate limiting factors in a constructed wetland receiving landfill leachate. Water Sci Technol 40:75–82

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lai DYF, Lam KC (2009) Phosphorus sorption by sediments in a subtropical constructed wetland receiving stormwater runoff. Ecol Eng 35:735–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li LF, Li YH, Biswas DK, Nian YG, Jiang GM (2008) Potential of constructed wetlands in treating the eutrophic water: evidence from Taihu lake of China. Biores Technol 99:1656–1663

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MEPPRC (Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China) (2012) China Environmental State Bulletin: 2011. http://jcs.mep.gov.cn/hjzl/zkgb. Accessed 24 Jan 2014

  • Milenkovski S, Baath E, Lindgren PE, Berglund O (2010) Toxicity of fungicides to natural bacterial communities in wetland water and sediment measured using leucine incorporation and potential denitrification. Ecotoxicology 19:285–294

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moustafa MZ, White JR, Coghlan CC, Reddy KR (2011) Influence of hydropattern and vegetation type on phosphorus dynamics in flow-through wetland treatment systems. Ecol Eng 37:1369–1378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mufarrege MM, Luca DGA, Hadadand HR, Maine MA (2011) Adaptability of Typha domingensis to high pH and salinity. Ecotoxicology 20:457–465

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Münch CH, Neu T, Kuschk P, Röske I (2007) The root surface as the definitive detail for microbial transformation processes in constructed wetlands—a biofilm characteristic. Water Sci Technol l56:271–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murdock JN, Shields FDJ, Lizotte REJ (2013) Periphyton responses to nutrient and atrazine mixtures introduced through agricultural runoff. Ecotoxicology 22:215–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NEPAC (2002) Standard method for the examination of water and wastewater. Environmental Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Oostrom VAJ, Russell AJ (1994) Denitrification in constructed wastewater wetlands receiving high concentrations of nitrate. Water Sci Technol 29:7–14

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paul EA, Clark FE (1996) Soil microbiology and biochemistry. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawson CA, Lim RP, Tremblay LA, Warne MSJ, Ying GG, Laginestra E, Chapman JC (2010) Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in remediated wetlands around Sydney, Australia. Ecotoxicology 19:1589–1600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau DPL, Vanrolleghem PA, Pauw ND (2004) Constructed wetlands in Flanders: a performance analysis. Ecol Eng 23:151–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulz C, Gelbrecht J, Rennert B (2003) Treatment of rainbow trout farm effluents in constructed wetland with emergent plants and subsurface horizontal water flow. Aquaculture 217:207–221

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SEPA (2002) Environmental quality standard for surface water (GB3838-2002). State Environmental Protection Administration of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Standards for Drinking Water Quality (GB5749-2006) (2006) Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing

  • Steer D, Fraser L, Boddy J, Seibert B (2002) Efficiency of small constructed wetlands for subsurface treatment of single-family domestic effluent. Ecol Eng 18:429–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stottmeister U, Wiener A, Kuschk P, Kappelmeyer U, Kstner M, Bederski O, Müller RA, Moormann H (2003) Effects of plants and microorganisms in constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment. Biotechnol Adv 22:93–117

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tanner CC, Clayton JS, Upsdell MP (1995) Effect of loading rate and planting on treatment of dairy farm waste waters in constructed wetlands-II. Removal of nitrogen and phosphorous. Water Res 29:27–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Valipour A, Raman VK, Ghole VS (2009) A new approach in wetland systems for domestic wastewater treatment using phragmites sp. Ecol Eng 35:1797–1803

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vymazal J (2002) The use of sub-surface constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in the Czech Republic: 10 years experience. Ecol Eng 18:633–646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vymazal J (2007) Removal of nutrients in various types of constructed wetlands. Sci Total Environ 380:48–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu JT, Wang L, Ma F, Yang JX, Li SY, Li Z (2013) Effects of vegetative-periodic-induced rhizosphere variation on the uptake and translocation of metals in Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin ex. Steudel growing in the Sun Island Wetland. Ecotoxicology 22:608–618

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang ZF, Zheng SK, Chen JJ, Sun M (2008) Purification of nitrate-rich agricultural runoff by a hydroponic system. Biores Technol 99:8049–8053

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ye JF, Wang L, Li D, Han W, Ye C (2012) Vertical oxygen distribution trend and oxygen source analysis for vertical-flow constructed wetlands treating domestic wastewater. Ecol Eng 41:8–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang YM, Zhang YC, Gao YX, Zhang HH, Cao JY, Cail JB, Kong XG (2011) Water pollution control technology and strategy for river-lake systems: a case study in Gehu Lake and Taige Cana. Ecotoxicology 20:1154–1159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang FQ, Wang YS, Sun CC, Lou ZP, Dong JD (2012) A novel metallothionein gene from a mangrove plant Kandelia candel. Ecotoxicology 21:1633–1641

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ms. Chen Hong of Ji’nan city Reservoir, for their helps with field sampling and investigation. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41371072 and 41071332), Heilongjiang National Science Fund for Young Scholars (No. QC2009C70) and the Program for Young Academic Backbone of Harbin Normal University (No. 10KXQ-08).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Monitoring of Geographic Environment, College of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, People’s Republic of China

    Xu Yang, Xueping Zhang, Jifu Wang, Guangying Zhao & Baojian Wang

Authors
  1. Xu Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xueping Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jifu Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Guangying Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Baojian Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xueping Zhang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yang, X., Zhang, X., Wang, J. et al. Performance of the subsurface flow constructed wetlands for pretreatment of slightly polluted source water. Ecotoxicology 23, 699–706 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1197-7

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1197-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation