Hydraulic residence time computation for constructed wetland design

Hydraulic residence time (HRT) is one of the key design parameters controlling the removal efficiency of contaminants and nutrients in stormwater and wastewater wetlands. The paper presents a new approach to the estimation of HRT using the variable residence time (VART) model. The VART model is employed to simulate the major processes (including advection, dispersion, and transient storage of contaminants/nutrients in vegetated zones) affecting HRT and thereby to produce a hydraulic residence time distribution (HRTD) for a design wetland. The HRTD in combination with a moment-based method is then utilized to find a mean design HRT for the design wetland. Methods for estimation of parameters governing the HRTD are proposed. The new approach to HRT computation is demonstrated through a case study for the Tres Rios Demonstration (TRD) Wetlands in Arizona, USA. Modeling results show that the design HRTs for the Hayfield wetland (H1) and the Cobble wetlands (C1 and C2) are 4.04, 4.66, and 2.65 days, respectively. The computed HRTs agree well with those reported by previous studies, confirming the efficacy of the new approach to hydraulic design of constructed wetlands.     

Hydraulic performance of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands for different strategies of filling the filter medium into the filter basin

A quasi-two-dimensional flow cell model of a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland was used to investigate how partitioning the wetland into smaller vertical sections prior to filling a heterogeneous filter medium into the filter basin altered the filter material packing and thereby the flow distribution. The flow through the filter medium was visualized using Nigrosine dye. Breakthrough curves for the flow cell were obtained using chloride tracer. Three inlet–outlet configurations were examined to assess the effects of the inlet and outlet positions on the flow since the inlet–outlet locations in addition to the filter medium heterogeneity may promote the development of preferential paths and dead zones. The filter medium packing patterns were dependent on the number of sections. If the wetland model was not partitioned prior to filling (one section), the filter material formed roughly horizontal layers with alternate layers of coarse and fine material. However, increasing the number of sections reduced the layer continuity and increased the flow distribution. This yielded longer retention times and higher hydraulic efficiency factors. The effect of the inlet–outlet configuration on the hydraulic parameters was greater when the number of sections was small. These results suggest that dividing the constructed wetland into several sections prior to filling the filter medium into the basin will improve the treatment efficiency.     

Stochastic analysis of the relationships between saturated hydraulic conductivity variance and solute dispersion in heterogeneous soils

The effect of three‐dimensional heterogeneity of saturated hydraulic conductivity on the vertical transport of solutes in soils is examined by means of controlled numerical experiments. Saturated hydraulic conductivity, an important transport parameter that controls the dispersion of pollutants in heterogeneous soils, is assumed to be composed of a homogeneous mean value and a perturbation caused by the vertical variability of soil properties, producing a stochastic process in the mean flow direction. The spatial heterogeneity of porous soils is characterized by the variance and correlation scale of the saturated hydraulic conductivity in the transport domain. Numerical experiments are carried out to evaluate the extent of contaminant dispersion in Hawaiian Oxic soils when uncertainty exists as a result of the spatial heterogeneity of saturated hydraulic conductivity. Statistical analysis of the saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements on undisturbed soil cores from two locations in Hawaiian Oxic soils indicated two different soils with the same mean and different variances. The partial differential equations describing three‐dimensional transient flow and solute transport in soils with a random conductivity field were solved to evaluate the effect of these two variance levels on the transport of a contaminant plume originating from the surface. The significance of the variance on the spatial and temporal distribution of tracer concentrations is demonstrated using solute breakthrough curves at various depths in the soil profile. The longitudinal macrodispersivity resulting from tracer spreading in the heterogeneous soils with a finite local dispersivity is also analyzed. The analysis shows a similar solute dispersion behavior for the two variances. However, there is an overall reduction in the dispersion of solutes resulting from a uniform velocity field with the same mean. Macrodispersivity values in heterogeneous soils are proportional to the variance at smaller travel distances but converge to the same value at larger travel distances.     

水深对塘堰湿地水力性能的影响

塘堰湿地因其良好的生态性能而被广泛用于水稻灌区的排水净化,由于湿地的水力性能及净化效果受到诸多因素影响,客观认识这些因素的作用机理有助于提高湿地设计和运行管理的质量.本文通过示踪剂试验探讨了不同水深（20、40、60 cm）对塘堰湿地水力特性的影响.结果表明： 随着湿地水深的减小,湿地的有效容积率从0.421增加到0.844,水力效率从0.281增加到0.604;在水深较小时（20和40 cm）,湿地前半部分的有效容积率达到0.9以上,明显优于湿地整体情况,湿地前半部分的水流混合情况高,接近于完全混合流.通过对原始示踪曲线的标准化分析发现,矩分析参数与水力参数有较好的数值一致性,水力参数与不受尾部截断误差影响的矩指数之间具有良好的一致性.塘堰湿地水深较小时有利于提高湿地的水力性能,试验结果可为今后塘堰湿地的优化设计提供参考.     

Designing and testing of backflow-free catheters

Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is a drug delivery technique used to target specific regions of the central nervous system (CNS) for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer while bypassing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The application of CED is limited by low volumetric flow rate infusions in order to prevent the possibility of backflow. Consequently, a small convective flow produces poor drug distribution inside the treatment region, which can render CED treatment ineffective. Novel catheter designs and CED protocols are needed in order to improve the drug distribution inside the treatment region and prevent backflow. In order to develop novel backflow-free catheter designs, the impact of the micro-fluid injection into deformable porous media was investigated experimentally as well as numerically. Fluid injection into the porous media has a considerable effect on local transport properties such as porosity and hydraulic conductivity because of the local media deformation. These phenomena not only alter the bulk flow velocity distribution of the micro-fluid flow due to the changing porosity, but significantly modify the flow direction, and even the volumetric flow distribution, due to induced local hydraulic conductivity anisotropy. These findings help us to design backflow-free catheters with safe volumetric flow rates up to 10 μl/min. A first catheter design reduces porous media deformation in order to improve catheter performance and control an agent volumetric distribution. A second design prevents the backflow by reducing the porosity and hydraulic conductivity along a catheter's shaft. A third synergistic catheter design is a combination of two previous designs. Novel channel-inducing and dual-action catheters, as well as a synergistic catheter, were successfully tested without the occurrence of backflow and are recommended for future animal experiments.     

Chromium removal in constructed wetlands: A review

The distribution, mobility and availability of metals in the environment depend not only on their total concentration but also on their formations and bounds with the soil. Hexavalent chromium is a very toxic, metal compound, frequently found in polluted industrial wastewaters, and causes serious environmental problems. The potential application of constructed wetlands in the treatment of chromium bearing wastewaters has been reported recently. This paper reviews research on constructed wetlands treating chromium polluted wastewaters, and focuses on several design and operational parameters. The review highlights the effect of vegetation type, hydraulic residence time and porous media type on wetland performance. Constructed wetlands have been proved to be rather efficient at treating chromium containing wastewaters.     

Characterization of hydraulic habitat and retention across different channel types; introducing a new field-based technique

Understanding the interactions between physical habitat and aquatic biodiversity has become a key research objective in river management. River research and management practitioners are increasingly seeking new methodologies and techniques for characterizing physical habitat heterogeneity. The physical biotope has been widely employed as the standard mesoscale unit in river surveys. However, few surveys have quantified the combined physical heterogeneity at the meso- and microscale scale via a single technique. This paper describes a new field methodology for assessing variations in hydraulic habitat and retention across different channel types (e.g. step-pool, bedrock, plane-bed and pool-riffle). Hydraulic habitat and retention was measured by timing 100 flow tracers across a 100-m stream length, and recording the types of trapping structures. The pattern of flow tracers and retention varied significantly between channel types and structures. Rocks (boulders and cobbles) were more important retentive structures than eddies and snags (woody material and vegetation). The results indicate the importance of a diverse hydraulic environment, woody material and channel substrate character in increasing physical heterogeneity within a stream reach. The findings suggest that the field methodology may be an effective tool to assess differences in physical heterogeneity pre and post river restoration activities.     

Hybrid constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment and reuse in the Canary Islands

The performance of two substrates commonly available in the zone, gravel and lapilli, was tested for their use in hybrid constructed wetland pilot plants for the treatment and reuse of urban wastewater in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The first stage of the systems was a vertical subsurface-flow constructed wetland and the second stage was a horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetland. Parallel experiments were carried out with one system containing only crushed stone basaltic gravel as substrate and the other with only lapilli, a very porous volcanic sediment. The comparative effect of substrate type, hydraulic loading rate and planting was studied.Tracer studies indicated that the experimental TRHs were significantly lower than the theoretical ones, particularly for the vertical flow with gravel. Though the vertical flow with lapilli performed better than the one with gravel, the hybrids showed quite similar removals.Planting or varying the hydraulic loading rate introduced little differences between the vertical flows or the hybrids. Average removals for the gravel-based hybrid constructed wetland were 86% for BOD, 80% for COD, 88% for ammonia-N, 96% for SS and turbidity, 24% for phosphate-P, and 99.5% for faecal coliforms and 99.7% for faecal enterococci. Thus, it can be concluded that hybrid constructed wetlands proved to be robust configurations for wastewater treatment in the Canary Islands.     

荒漠绿洲湿地土壤优先流与水分入渗特征

地表水分、溶质和污染物以土壤优先流的形式下渗到深层土壤或地下水中,将导致土壤养分流失与地下水污染等问题。因此,土壤优先流研究将为干旱区荒漠绿洲湿地水分运移与盐分积累过程提供理论依据。以荒漠绿洲湿地为研究区,选取柽柳灌丛、盐碱草地和杨树林,以道路为对照,采用室外染色示踪法对湿地土壤优先流特征与水分入渗进行研究。结果表明:不同植被类型土壤优先流入渗深度存在显著差异,其柽柳灌丛和盐碱草地几乎是杨树林和道的2倍;染色面积比随深度的增加而波动下降,0—20 cm土层染色面积比占总染色面积的54.42%—89.27%;染色路径宽度以20—250 mm和250 mm为主;优先流类型以高相互作用混合流和非均质指流为主。在荒漠绿洲湿地,砾石促进土壤优先流发生,增加了侧向流;同时,粗根的减少抑制了优先流的发生;此外,土壤盐分通过影响土壤大孔隙分布而影响水分入渗过程。因此,荒漠绿洲湿地土壤优先流与水分入渗差异是土壤质地、根系分布与盐分离子共同作用的结果。     

Diffusion and reaction within porous packing media: a phenomenological model

A phenomenological model has been developed to describe biomass distribution and substrate depletion in porous diatomaceous earth (DE) pellets colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The essential features of the model are diffusion, attachment and detachment to/from pore walls of the biomass, diffusion of substrate within the pellet, and external mass transfer of both substrate and biomass in the bulk fluid of a packed bed containing the pellets. A bench-scale reactor filled with DE pellets was inoculated with P. aeruginosa and operated in plug flow without recycle using a feed containing glucose as the limiting nutrient. Steady-state effluent glucose concentrations were measured at various residence times, and biomass distribution within the pellet was measured at the lowest residence time. In the model, microorganism/substrate kinetics and mass transfer characteristics were predicted from the literature. Only the attachment and detachment parameters were treated as unknowns, and were determined by fitting biomass distribution data within the pellets to the mathematical model. The rate-limiting step in substrate conversion was determined to be internal mass transfer resistance; external mass transfer resistance and microbial kinetic limitations were found to be nearly negligible. Only the outer 5% of the pellets contributed to substrate conversion. (c) 1993 Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Treatment of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in upflow wetland mesocosms

Sorption, biodegradation and hydraulic parameters were determined in the laboratory for two candidate soil substrate mixtures for construction of an upflow treatment wetland for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at a Superfund site. The major parent contaminants in the groundwater at the Superfund site were cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-1,2-DCE) and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA). The two mixtures; one a mixture of sand and peat, the other a mixture of sand, peat and Bion Soil, a product derived from agricultural wastes; were selected from ten possible mixtures based on the results of hydraulic and geotechnical testing. The sand and peat mixture had an average hydraulic conductivity of 4.95×10⁻⁴ cm/s with a critical flow of 39.5 gpm/acre (368 l/min/ha) without fluidization of the bed. The sand, peat and Bion Soil mixture had an average hydraulic conductivity of 3.02×10⁻⁴ cm/s with a critical flow of 36.8 gpm/acre (344 l/min/ha) without fluidization of the bed. Retardation coefficients ranged from 1 to 7.3 for target VOCs with higher coefficients observed in the mixture containing the Bion Soil. Consistently higher spatial and temporal first-order removal rate constants were observed in the sand, peat and Bion Soil mixture (cis-1,2-DCE, 0.84±0.36/day; 1,1,1-TCA, 6.52±3.12/day) than in the sand and peat mixture (cis-1,2-DCE, 0.37±0.13/day; 1,1,1-TCA, 1.48±0.42/day). Results from anaerobic microcosm studies confirmed that biodegradation was occurring in the columns and that the sand, peat and Bion Soil mixture had higher degradation rate than the sand and peat mixture. Vinyl chloride (VC) was identified as a ‘design’ contaminant since it is a proven carcinogen and had the lowest removal rate constant for both substrate mixtures. Effective wetland bed depths for VC removal of 900 and 210 cm will be required for peat and sand alone and sand, peat and Bion Soil mixtures, respectively.     

Quantifying the hydraulic performance of treatment wetlands using the moment index

A new hydraulic index was derived according to residence time distribution theory. The approach quantifies hydraulic inefficiencies according to the juxtaposition of the hold back parameter relative to the residence time distribution. The index was evaluated for its ability to detect variation, for conformity with qualitative assessments, and for correlation to effluent pollutant fractions in order to assess its suitability as a predictor of treatment.The moment index overcomes many of the weaknesses inherent in existing indices. The index can be computed from a dataset considering just one volume exchange so arbitrary truncation of data due to the finite nature of data collection has no impact on the moment index. The moment index appears to be more sensitive than existing indices in detecting attenuation of a residence time distribution as well. The new index demonstrated excellent correlation to the effluent pollutant fraction predicted by a first-order reduction implying the index could be the good predictor of treatment. In addition to correlation with treatment, the moment index matched qualitative assessment precisely for eight specific cases considered.The moment index could substantially aid in the design and management of treatment wetlands for balancing cost and efficacy by resolving some of the uncertainty associated with residence time. The index could be used to help identify the optimal wetland configuration for maximizing residence time. Not only would it be useful in quantifying the effects of vegetation, bathymetry, and wetland shape on residence time; it could have utility in supplying the bounds for pollutant reduction.     

Real time monitoring of biofilm development under flow conditions in porous media

Biofilm growth can impact the effectiveness of industrial processes that involve porous media. To better understand and characterize how biofilms develop and affect hydraulic properties in porous media, both spatial and temporal development of biofilms under flow conditions was investigated in a translucent porous medium by using Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44, a bacterial strain genetically engineered to luminesce in the presence of an induction agent. Real-time visualization of luminescent biofilm growth patterns under constant pressure conditions was captured using a CCD camera. Images obtained over 8 days revealed that variations in bioluminescence intensity could be correlated to biofilm cell density and hydraulic conductivity. These results were used to develop a real-time imaging method to study the dynamic behavior of biofilm evolution in a porous medium, thereby providing a new tool to investigate the impact of biological fouling in porous media under flow conditions.     

Real time monitoring of biofilm development under flow conditions in porous media

Biofilm growth can impact the effectiveness of industrial processes that involve porous media. To better understand and characterize how biofilms develop and affect hydraulic properties in porous media, both spatial and temporal development of biofilms under flow conditions was investigated in a translucent porous medium by using Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44, a bacterial strain genetically engineered to luminesce in the presence of an induction agent. Real-time visualization of luminescent biofilm growth patterns under constant pressure conditions was captured using a CCD camera. Images obtained over 8 days revealed that variations in bioluminescence intensity could be correlated to biofilm cell density and hydraulic conductivity. These results were used to develop a real-time imaging method to study the dynamic behavior of biofilm evolution in a porous medium, thereby providing a new tool to investigate the impact of biological fouling in porous media under flow conditions.     

Rejuvenating the largest municipal treatment wetland in Florida

The Orlando Easterly Wetland (OEW), one of the largest constructed wetlands for the treatment of wastewater in Florida, started operation in 1987 for the reduction of nutrient loads in tertiary treated domestic wastewater produced by the City of Orlando. The wetland has performed better than design expectations, but phosphorus removal effectiveness experienced some seasonal declines beginning with the winter of 1999. Subsequent studies indicated that the OEW treatment capacity was hindered by inefficient phosphorus removal in the upstream cells of one of three flow trains. Therefore, rejuvenating management activities were initiated on these cells in 2002. The management included the removal of plants and organic top sediments, site grading in the interior of the cells, construction of baffles and islands, and re-vegetation. This study evaluates the improvement in hydraulic and phosphorus removal performance realized from the wetland modifications. Improvement of hydraulic performance was evaluated based on tracer tests, and improvement of phosphorus removal performance was evaluated based on episodic spatially distributed water samples as well as model prediction. The results showed that both the hydraulic efficiency and the phosphorus removal effectiveness of the rejuvenated wetland were significantly increased. However, the wetland has likely re-entered a start-up phase and long-term observation will be necessary to determine eventual steady-state conditions.     

Hydrodynamics of vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands: Tracer tests with rhodamine WT and numerical modelling

Typical unsteady unsaturated conditions can profoundly affect the hydrodynamics of vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands. In this study we analyzed the hydrodynamics of a 33 m² vertical flow pilot plant, treating municipal secondary effluents. Three different saturation conditions were analyzed under several constant flux regimes: complete saturation, partial saturation with the free water table 20 cm over the bottom of the bed, and complete drainage. Tracer tests were performed in steady state conditions by dosing rhodamine WT as square input signals. Breakthrough curves were analyzed by means of both a classical residence time distribution analysis and an originally developed numerical plug-flow model with longitudinal dispersion adapted to the unsaturated conditions. We found that the degree of global mixing in the vertical flow constructed wetland increased as the water content increased; this effect was controlled by the hydraulic residence time of the system. Conversely, the degree of local mixing was inversely affected by water content; the dispersivity was 4.5, 10, and 14 cm for fully saturated, partially saturated and draining conditions, respectively. We explain the dependency of dispersivity on water content in physical terms; however, further studies are needed to mathematically include this relationship in numerical models that describe the behaviour of vertical flow constructed wetlands.     

Performances of constructed wetlands for municipal wastewater treatment in rural mountainous area

A global performance evaluation of an experimental Horizontal SubSurface Flow Constructed Wetlands (HSSF) was made after 6 years of functioning. This wetland is situated in French prealpine mountain, at 720 m elevation. The HSSF process treatment consists in a three-stage system dimensioned for 350 People Equivalent. Different helophytes were planted such as Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis and Scirpus maritimus. The mean hydraulic residence time for sewage was closed to 4–5 days, but in summer the mean pollutant residence time increases to 6 days due to an important evapotranspiration. There is no clogging of the gravel matrix and the hydraulic conductivity was very good and stabilized. Removal pollutant efficiency was determinate at each stages. There was a high removal of total suspended solids (TSS) all year around with an average of 95.6% (±3.6). More than 80% of removal occurred in the first stage. Physical processes (decantation, filtration) associated with biological oxidation were the principal factors of this removal. For COD and BOD₅, removal efficiency in the first stage were close to 60% on average and more than 90% at the outlet of the wetland. These results are similar to those observed with SSFW in many cases. Influence of temperature seems very weak because there were no significant seasonal variations of the process efficiency. Minimum effluent quality standards (30 mg l^–1 TSS; 120 mg l^–1 COD; 40 mg l^–1 BOD₅) were always respected. In cold periods, nutrients uptake was reduced but remained up to 60% in average. Mean bacterial removal efficiency was about two order of magnitude (99%) but can reach up to five order of magnitude in summer. These cyclic variations follow a sinusoidal variation around an annual mean. Pollutants removals were correlated to their respective loadings and no limits has been observed except for nitrogen. These results confirm that SSFW, an ecotechnology, should be considered as an alternative to conventional treatment methods (activated sludge, fixed biofilm) for small communities even in mountainous area.     

Simulating flows in horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands operating in Portugal

Constructed wetlands are wastewater treatment technologies based in natural systems, and their environmental and hydraulic behaviour is influenced by weather conditions like temperature, solar radiation and precipitation. In this paper, a one-dimensional dynamic model applicable to horizontal flow constructed wetlands is presented. The structure of the hydraulic module considers Darcy's law for estimating head losses along the porous media and the boundary condition of the outlet structure. For the water budgets, precipitation and evapotranspiration are considered. The model was calibrated and validated with data from a constructed wetland operating in the South of Portugal, and a good agreement between simulated and measured data was obtained. The relevance of considering evapotranspiration in order to obtain good flow estimations was demonstrated, showing a significant influence of that variable on daily flow reductions, especially during summer months. Better simulation results were obtained when considering an evapotranspiration pattern that describes variations during the day, instead of a constant daily evapotranspiration rate.     

Feasibility study of degradation of phenol in a fluidized bed bioreactor with a cyclodextrin polymer as biofilm carrier

This work is focused on the evaluation of a beta-cyclodextrin polymer as a carrier medium in a fluidized bed bioreactor treating aqueous phenol as a model pollutant. The insoluble polymer support was obtained in the shape of spherical beads by crosslinking beta-cyclodextrin with epichlorohydrin. A batch of swollen polymer particles was loaded into the reactor and inoculated with a mixed bacterial culture. Bacterial growth on the polymer beads was initially stimulated by glucose addition to the medium, and then gradually replaced with phenol. The operational variables studied after the acclimation period included phenol load, hydraulic residence time and recirculation flow rate. Low hydraulic residence times and moderate phenol loads were applied. The elimination capacity was usually about 1.0 kg-phenol/m(3)d, although a maximum of 2.8 kg-phenol/m(3)d was achieved with a retention time of only 0.55 h. The depuration efficiency was not affected by the recirculation flow rate in the range studied. Neither operational nor support stability problems were detected during the operation. A high degree of expansion was achieved in the bioreactor due to the hydrogel nature of the cyclodextrin polymer and, consequently, a low energy requirement was necessary to fluidize the bed.     

Application of hydrogeophysical techniques to study the distribution of a burrowing crayfish in a wetland

Crayfish are important in wetland systems because of their function in soil nutrient turnover. Since many crayfishes are imperiled by anthropogenic activities, it is important to understand factors that are associated with their distribution within and among wetlands. This study investigated the soil and hydrogeological characteristics of a wetland and related them to the spatial distribution of crayfish burrows found within it. The study utilized field-collected soil cores, electrical resistivity, and ground penetrating radar to map subsurface characteristics at Bartram Forest, Baldwin County, Georgia. Wetland delineation was also conducted in the field to establish the wetland boundaries. Both 2D and 3D geophysical profiles were created. Soils samples were analyzed for grain size distribution, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity in the lab. Hydraulic conductivity of the wetland soils was also determined in the field using slug tests. Results show subsurface physical differences between crayfish inhabited zones of the wetland and those that do not have crayfish burrows.The Ambiguous Crayfish, Cambarus striatus was found in soils with a hydraulic conductivity of 0.01–0.4 m/day where soils outside of their colony boundary had a hydraulic conductivity of 0.4–1.2 m/day. Areas where C. striatus were located had a higher porosity (0.36) than areas without crayfish (0.26). Subsurface stratigraphy varied between the areas with and without burrows. C. striatus was found to live in a subsurface with relatively gradual stratigraphical boundaries when compared to surrounding areas.