Birnessite-coated sand filled vertical flow constructed wetlands improved nutrients removal in a cold climate

At low temperature, plants wither and microbial activities decrease, leading to a decline in the pollutant-treatment performance of constructed wetlands (CWs). In this study, vertical flow CWs (VFCWs) with birnessite (Mn oxides)-coated sand (Mn-CWs) were developed to investigate the pollutant removal performance and mechanism in a cold climate. The results showed that the average removal efficiencies for NH₄-N, NO₃-N, TN, and TP were 73.81%, 90.66%, 82.44%, and 57.89% in Mn-CWs, respectively, while the average removal efficiencies for NH₄-N, NO₃-N, TN, and TP were 29.07%, 90.40%, 62.80%, and 26.32% in the control, respectively. Mn-CWs enhanced microbial denitrification and matrix storage, as well as inhibited P release in Mn-CWs at low temperature. According to GC-MS analysis of the organic compounds, the Mn-CWs matrix contained much more short-chain volatile organic compounds, such as carboxylic acid derivatives, while the control matrix had more ethyl acetate. The absolute quantities of bacterial 16S rRNA, amoA, narG, nirS, and nosZ were significantly higher than the control at 20 cm height from the bottom (p > 0.05). Illumina high-throughput sequencing analysis revealed that the relative abundances of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria were both higher in Mn-CWs than that of the control. CWs filled with birnessite-coated sand represent an innovative approach for improving nutrient removal performance in cold climates through chemical absorption and microbial transformation.