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Removal of arsenic by pilot-scale vertical flow constructed wetland

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Abstract

Four pilot-scale Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands (VFCWs) filled with gravel and planted with Phragmites australis were operated for seven months in the field to study the efficiency of arsenic removal in contaminated wastewater. The average arsenic removal efficiency by the VFCWs was 52.0%±20.2%, 52.9%±21.3%, and 40.3%±19.4% at the theoretical concentrations of 50 µg/L (CW50), 100 µg/L (CW100), and 500 µg/L (CW500) arsenic in the wastewater, respectively. The results also showed no significant differences in the removal efficiency for conventional contaminants (nitrogen, phosphorus, or chemical oxygen demand) between wastewater treatments that did or did not contain arsenic (P>0.05), except for phosphorus in CW500. The highest average monthly removal rate of arsenic occurred in August (55.9%–74.5%) and the lowest in November (7.8%–15.5%). The arsenic removal efficiency of each VFCW was positively correlated with temperature (P < 0.05). Arsenic accumulated in both substrates and plants, with greater accumulation associated with increased arsenic concentrations in the influent. The maximum accumulated arsenic concentrations in the substrates and plants at the end of the experiment were 4.47 mg/kg and 281.9 mg/kg, respectively, both present in CW500. The translocation factor (TF) of arsenic in the reeds was less than 1, with most of the arsenic accumulating in the roots. The arsenic mass balance indicated that substrate accumulation contributed most to arsenic removal (19.9%–30.4%), with lower levels in plants (3.8%–9.5%). In summary, VFCWs are effective for the treatment of arsenic-containing wastewater.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Zhejiang Provincial Key R&D Program (2019C03110) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51578538).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Yaocheng Fan, Tiancui Li, Deshou Cun, Haibing Tang, Yanran Dai, Feihua Wang & Wei Liang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yaocheng Fan, Tiancui Li, Deshou Cun & Haibing Tang

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  1. Yaocheng Fan
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  2. Tiancui Li
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  7. Wei Liang
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Correspondence to Wei Liang.

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Highlights

• VFCWs are effective for the treatment of arsenic-containing wastewater.

• Arsenic removal did not affect the removal of nutrients, except for TP in CW500.

• Arsenic removal was highest when the temperature peaked and the reed was in bloom.

• Substrate accumulation contributed more to arsenic removal than plant absorption.

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Fan, Y., Li, T., Cun, D. et al. Removal of arsenic by pilot-scale vertical flow constructed wetland. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 15, 79 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1435-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1435-1

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