Optimizing agricultural biomass application to enhance nitrogen removal in vertical flow constructed wetlands for treating low-carbon wastewater

Abstract

Agricultural biomass waste in rural areas has been identified as an economical solid carbon sources in constructed wetlands (CWs) for treating low C/N ratio domestic sewage. However, little information is available regarding its optimal utilization as a media amendment for enhancing nitrogen removal in CWs. In this study, vertical flow CWs with different walnut peel amendment proportions (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%) were developed to explore the effects of biomass dosage on the treatment performance, nitrous oxide (N2O) emission and microbial metabolites. Results showed that the addition of biomass significantly enhanced the denitrification performance in all CWs, and the higher total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency (91.14–97.16%) was achieved in CWs with the optimal dosage of 25%. While the addition of biomass resulted in a slight increase in N2O emission (20.56–270.13 μg m−2 h−1) compared with control systems. Additionally, the biomass addition increased the accumulation of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by facilitating microbial processes. Higher total EPS production was observed in CW with 25% biomass, and the proportion of tightly bound EPS (48%) dominated in the total EPS in different CWs.