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Horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HSSF CWs) with and without redox manipulation by front aeration were operated to treat mechanically pretreated wastewater from a nearby wastewater treatment plant. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 454-pyrosequencing were used to characterize the shifts in bacterial community diversity and composition in response to front aeration in the HSSF CWs. Both techniques revealed similar bacterial diversity between the HSSF CWs with (ACW) and without front aeration (NACW). Differences in microbial functional groups between the ACW and the NACW substrate samples were identified with 454-pyrosequencing. Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrospira) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosomonas) had much higher abundances in the ACW, whereas more sequences related to sulfate-reducing bacteria and anaerobic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (genera Sulfuricella, Sulfuritalea, and Sulfuricurvum) were detected in the NACW. Removal efficiencies for NH₄(+)-N, PO₄(3-)-P and chemical oxygen demand in the ACW were 48.7 ± 15.5, 70.2 ± 13.5, and 82.0 ± 6.4%, respectively, whereas the removal efficiencies for these parameters in the NACW were 10.3 ± 14.0, 53.1 ± 18.9, and 68.8 ± 10.7%, respectively. In the ACW, the stimulation of nitrification via front aeration supplied more NO₂(-)-N and NO₃(-)-N to the subsequent denitrification process than in the NACW, resulting in higher total inorganic nitrogen removal efficiency. The differences in treatment efficiencies between the ACW and the NACW could be partially explained by the different bacterial community compositions in the two CWs.

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) and biofilm carriers are widely used in water purification. The objective of the present work was to explore whether and to what extent an FTW integrated with plants and biofilm carriers (FTW-I) could enhance the nutrient removal efficiency. Significantly higher removal rates of ammonia nitrogen (85.2 %), total phosphorus (82.7 %), and orthophosphate (82.5 %) were observed in the FTW-I treatment relative to the FTW with plants (FTW-P; 80.0, 78.5, and 77.6 %, respectively) and the FTW with biofilm carriers (FTW-B; 56.7, 12.9, and 13.4 %, respectively) (p < 0.05). The mass balance results indicated that plant uptake was the main pathway for N and P removal (accounting for 58.1 and 91.4 %, respectively) in FTW-I, in which only 1.2 % of the N and 5.7 % of the P was deposited on the bottom of the tank. In addition, the plants translocated 43.9 and 80.2 % of the N and P in the water and 83.5 and 88.3 % of the absorbed N and P, respectively, into their aboveground tissues. The combination of an FTW and biofilm carriers can improve the efficiency of water purification, and nutrients can be rapidly removed from the system by harvesting the aboveground plant tissues.

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The effects of micro-aeration and substrate selection on domestic sewage treatment performance were explored using three pairs (with or without micro-aeration) of horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetlands (CWs) filled with zeolite, ceramsite or quartz granules. The individual and combined effects of micro-aeration and substrate selection on the purification performance of the experimental-scale HSSF CWs were evaluated. The results showed that micro-aeration significantly increased the treatment efficiencies for chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorus (TP), ortho-phosphate (PO4(3-)-P) and ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) using HSSF CWs, while the substrate selection significantly affected the TP, PO4(3-)-P and NH4+-N removal efficiencies (p<0.05). A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that there was a significant interaction term (i.e. micro-aeration×substrate selection) for NH4+-N removal (p<0.05). Among the three substrates, ceramsite was the best substrate for the treatment of domestic sewage using HSSF CWs. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that a ceramsite-filled HSSF CW with micro-aeration could be the optimal configuration for decentralized domestic sewage treatment.

In order to investigate the treatment performance and microorganism mechanism of IVCW for domestic wastewater in central of China, two parallel pilot-scale IVCW systems were built to evaluate purification efficiencies, microbial community structure and enzyme activities. The results showed that mean removal efficiencies were 81.03 % for COD, 51.66 % for total nitrogen (TN), 42.50 % for NH 4 + -N, and 68.01 % for TP. Significant positive correlations between nitrate reductase activities and TN and NH 4 + -N removal efficiencies, along with a significant correlation between substrate enzyme activity and operation time, were observed. Redundancy analysis demonstrated gram-negative bacteria were mainly responsible for urease and phosphatase activities, and also played a major role in dehydrogenase and nitrate reductase activities. Meanwhile, anaerobic bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and saturated FA groups, gram-positive bacteria exhibited good correlations with the removal of COD (p00.388), N (p0 0.236), and TP (p00.074), respectively. The IVCW system can be used to treat domestic wastewater effectively.

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