[Effect of Intermittent Aeration on Nitrogen Removal Efficiency in Vertical Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetland]

One-stage vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands (CWs) were used to treat effluent from grit chamber in municipal wastewater treatment plant. The CW was divided into aerobic zone and anoxic zone by means of raising the effluent level and installing a perforated pipe. Two parameters (the ratio of aeration time and nonaeration time, aeration cycle) were optimized in the experiment to enhance nitrogen removal efficiency. The results suggested that the removal rates of COD and NH₄⁺-N increased while TN showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with the increasing ratio. When the ratio was 3:1, the C/N value in the anoxic zone was 4. 8. And the TN effluent concentration was 15.8 mg · L⁻¹ with the highest removal rate (62.1%), which was increased by 12.7% compared with continuous aeration. As the extension of the aeration cycle, the DO effluent concentration as well as the removal rates of COD and NH: -N declined gradually. The TN removal rate reached the maximum (65.5%) when the aeration cycle was 6h. However, the TN removal rate dropped rapidly when the cycle exceeded the hydraulic retention time in the anoxic zone.