title: Characterizing phosphorus removal from polluted urban river water by steel slags in a vertical flow constructed wetland.
abstract: Phosphorus (P) removal in constructed wetlands (CWs) is often low unless special substrates with high sorption capacities are used. However, the use of special substrates in vertical flow (VF) CWs has not been proved to enhance P sorption. Thus, two VF wetlands were designed to evaluate the potential for enhanced P removal from polluted urban river water, one with slag as substrate and the other as a control with gravel as substrate. Findings from batch experiments showed P sorption capacities of 3.15 gP/kg and 0.81 gP/kg, respectively, for steel slag and gravel. Different organic matter fractions played different roles in P sorption, the effects of which were significant only at high concentrations. Over a 220 days' operation, the VF-slag removed 76.0% of the influent total phosphorus (TP) at 0.159 g/m(2)·d and PO4-P of 70.9% at 0.063 g/m(2)·d, whereas the VF-gravel removed 65.0% at 0.136 g/m(2)·d and 48.6% at 0.040 g/m(2)·d, respectively. Therefore, the merit of using a steel slag substrate in VF wetlands can be significant for the removal of PO4-P.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resources, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China E-mail: xcwang@xauat.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resources, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China E-mail: xcwang@xauat.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaochang C
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resources, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China E-mail: xcwang@xauat.edu.cn; UCD Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Civil Engineering, Newstead Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Mawuli
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dzakpasu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resources, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China E-mail: xcwang@xauat.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yucong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: UCD Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Civil Engineering, Newstead Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Yaqian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resources, Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China E-mail: xcwang@xauat.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiaqing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiong
mesh_terms: D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D045483:Rivers; D013232:Steel / Q000737:chemistry*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D013232:Steel; D010758:Phosphorus