• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.334-343
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• 2019

A lab-scale vertical flow subsurface (VFS) wetland composed of three parallel columns with polypropylene synthetic fiber as main substrate was operated. Piggery stormwater diluted from swine excreta was fed to the wetland on the basis of three different hydraulic regimes or hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2, 4, and 8 days with daily internal recirculation. Then, monitoring of common water quality parameters was carried out. Unexpectedly, an increase of effluent COD concentration accompanying the appearance of foams was observed during a distinct period in the wetland with HRT 2, 4, and 8 days, successively. Subsequently, a series of experiments was conducted to investigate the origin of the foams. Foams and the increase of COD concentration were found to be induced by the release of organic matter from the synthetic polypropylene fiber which was fed with piggery stormwater. Meanwhile, nitrogen removal was found to be enhanced during a period which overlapped the distinct foaming period signifying that foaming played two important functions in biological nitrogen removal. Foams which form rapidly and then burst easily could hold up and then release oxygen for nitrification. Foams which contain organic surfactants could serve as carbon sources for denitrification as well. Hence, nitrogen removal was enhanced during the foaming stage. After that, COD concentration decreased slowly to a level prior to the foaming stage, and nitrogen removal efficiency declined as well.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.68-75
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• 2016

A set of lab-scale polymer synthetic fiber packed column wetlands composing three columns (CW1, CW2 and CW3) with different hydraulic regimes, recirculation frequencies and pollutant loading rates, were operated in 2012. Synthetic fiber tested as an alternative wetland medium for soil mixture or gravel which has been widely used, has very high pore size and volume, so that clogging opportunity can be greatly avoided. The inflow to the wetland was artificial stormwater. All the wetlands achieved effective removal of TSS (94%~96%), TCOD (68%~73%), TN (35%~58%), TKN (62%~73%) and NH4-N (85%~ 99%). Particularly, it was observed that COD was released from the fiber during one distinct period in all wetlands. This was probably due to the degradation of polymer fiber, and the released organic matters were found to serve as carbon source for denitrification. In addition, with longer retention time and frequent recirculation, lower effluent concentration was observed. With higher pollutant loading rate, higher nitrification and denitrification rates were achieved. However, although organic matters were released from the fiber, the lack of carbon source was still the limiting factor for the system since the release persisted only for 40 days.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.94-105
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• 2021

Two vertical flow biofilters in series (BFS) employing synthetic fiber (FBF) followed by woodchip (WBF) was investigated in order to assess its potential as an alternative to the typical vertical-horizontal flow configuration in removing nonpoint source pollutants specifically nutrients and organics. These lab-scale column biofilters were operated for 176 days alongside three other columns that were added for control and sampling purposes. The biofilter columns were fed with either a semi-artificial piggery stormwater or artificial stormwater with specific ammonia and nitrate contents. Results reveal that the BFS was more effective than a single biofilter in removing pollutants especially nitrogen. FBF was found to remove up to 100% of ammonia from the stormwater with corresponding increase in nitrate in the outflow which shows evidence of active nitrification. Meanwhile, the succeeding vertical WBF was able to subsequently remove 77% of the nitrate. The effective reduction of nitrate in a vertical flow biofilter was believed to be due to the use of woodchip which can provide a carbon source that is required for denitrification. However, further investigation is needed to support this claim. Nonetheless, the study shows the potential of vertical flow BFS as a nitrogen removal mechanism especially in areas where enough land space for horizontal flow biofilters is limited.