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How to select substrate for alleviating clogging in the subsurface flow constructed wetland?
Hui Zhong1, Ning Hu1, Qinghua Wang1
1Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment (Ministry of Education), College of Resource and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, PR China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Chongqing 400716, PR China.
The Science of the Total Environment
|March 16, 2022
Summary
Subsurface flow constructed wetlands (CWs) face clogging issues due to substrate properties. Selecting appropriate substrates can mitigate physical, chemical, and biological clogging, enhancing CW performance and longevity.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Water Treatment Technologies
- Ecological Engineering
Background:
- Constructed wetlands (CWs) are vital for cost-effective water remediation, particularly in rural settings.
- Subsurface flow CWs (SSFCWs) rely on substrates for pollutant removal, but long-term operation leads to inevitable clogging.
- Clogging reduces treatment efficiency, shortens service life, and causes environmental sanitation issues like odor and mosquito breeding.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the impact of different substrates on physical, chemical, and biological clogging in SSFCWs.
- To identify substrates that can alleviate or aggravate clogging.
- To guide the scientific selection of substrates for stable CW operation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on CW substrate clogging.
- Categorization of clogging into physical, chemical, and biological components.
- Analysis of substrate properties influencing clogging.
Main Results:
- Substrate clogging in CWs is a complex interplay of physical, chemical, and biological factors.
- Recommended clogging-mitigating substrates include plastic, rubber, soil mixture, walnut shell, biochar, organic waste, alum sludge, and lightweight aggregate.
- Certain substrates like shell, steel slag, blast furnace slag, zeolite, and soil can promote phosphorus-clogging.
Conclusions:
- Substrate selection is critical for preventing and mitigating clogging in SSFCWs.
- Targeted substrate choices can reduce clogging synergy and improve system stability and efficiency.
- Future research should explore influent water quality, substrate type interactions, and waste-derived substrates for clogging mitigation.
