Treatment of high-phosphorus load wastewater by column packed with non-burning compound filler/gravel/ceramsite: evaluation of performance and microorganism community.

Abstract

Cost-effective and environmental-friendly substrates are essential for the constructed wetlands (CWs). In this study, the column test was used to explore the differences in pollutant purification performance, microbial community structure and abundance between non-burning compound filler and conventional CWs substrates (i.e. gravel and ceramsite) at low temperature (0-15℃). It was found that the maximum phosphorus removal efficiency of compound filler (99%) was better than gravel (18%) and ceramsite (21%). Besides, the proportion of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria capable of ammonium oxidation, nitrification and denitrification (i.e. Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, and Acetoanaerobium) was enhanced by compound filler, which has an excellent potential for nitrogen removal in the subsequent purification process. These results demonstrated that the self-made non-burning compound filler was a potential substrate for CWs, which was of great significance for the resource utilization of solid wastes such as polyaluminum chloride residue.