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Mass Balance Study on Phosphorus Removal in Constructed Wetland Microcosms Treating Polluted River Water
Author(s) -
Wu Haiming,
Zhang Jian,
Li Cong,
Fan Jinlin,
Zou Yina
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
clean – soil, air, water
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1863-0669
pISSN - 1863-0650
DOI - 10.1002/clen.201200408
Subject(s) - microcosm , wetland , environmental science , phosphorus , hydraulic retention time , vegetation (pathology) , surface water , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental engineering , constructed wetland , water body , environmental chemistry , chemistry , wastewater , ecology , biology , medicine , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , pathology , engineering
A number of studies have showed that the mass removal rates of phosphorus (P) in different constructed wetlands (CWs) varied significantly, and it is essential to quantify the contributions of major P removal processes in order to improve system design. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of vegetation, hydraulic retention time (HRT), and water temperature on P removal from polluted river water and to quantify the contributions of different P removal pathways in surface CWs. Results showed that the average total P removal rates ranged between 2.69 and 20.84 mg/(m 2 day) in different seasons and were influenced significantly by vegetation, HRT, and water temperature. According to the mass balance approach, plant uptake removed 4.81–22.33% of P input, while media storage contributed 36.16–49.66%. Other P removal processes such as microbiota uptake removed around 0.26–4.13%. Media storage and plant uptake were identified as the main P removal processes in surface CWs treating polluted river water. This illustrated the importance of selecting media and plants in CWs for future practical application.