Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Evaluation of nutrient removal efficiency and microbial enzyme activity in a baffled subsurface-flow constructed wetland system

Informally Refereed

Abstract

In this study, the enzyme activities and their relationships to domestic wastewater purification are investigated in four different types of subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (CWs), namely the traditional horizontal subsurface-flow, horizontal baffled subsurface-flow, vertical baffled subsurface-flow, and composite baffled subsurface-flow CWs. Results showed that the urease activity in the composite baffled subsurface-flow CW was significantly higher than in the other three CWs, while the phosphatase activity in the vertical baffled subsurface-flow CW were higher than in the other three CWs. There were significant and very significant correlations between the activities of urease and the removal rates of TN and NHþ4 —N for the horizontal baffled flow, horizontal subsurface flow, and composite baffled subsurface flow CWs. This study suggests that the activity of urease in the root zones of those three CWs is an important indicator for N purification from wastewaters

Keywords

Constructed wetland Baffled subsurface-flow Enzyme activity Nitrogen and phosphorus removal

Citation

Cui, Lihua; Ouyang, Ying; Gu, Wenjie; Yang,Weozhi; Xu, Qiaoling. 2013. Evaluation of nutrient removal efficiency and microbial enzyme activity in a baffled subsurface-flow constructed wetland system. Bioresource Technology 146:656-662.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/47038