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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Measuring Phosphorus Release in Laboratory Microcosms for Water Quality Assessment
Published on: July 22, 2019
Phosphorus removal in a vertical upflow constructed wetland system
N Farahbakhshazad1, G M Morrison
1Department of Applied Environmental Science, Göteborg University, P.O. Box 464, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden. neda@miljo.gu.se
Abstract:
Mechanisms for P removal in a vertical upflow macrophyte system were studied in controlled laboratory columns filled with sand and planted with Phragmites australis. Substrate P removal was shown to increase with flow rate, a parameter which can be enhanced through effluent recirculation. An alternative substrate (leca, light expanded clay aggregate) provided improved equilibrium adsorption characteristics, but uncrushed and within the kinetic constraints of a macrophyte system gave no improvement for P adsorption over sand. Intermittent loading of the sand based macrophyte system permitted control of the P concentration, with lower effluent peak concentrations for increased resting interval (no P inflow). Where P loading was targeted, continuous flow provided the optimum mass removal conditions.
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