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Thesis the First Step in This Study Required the Quantification and Identification of Suspended Matter in a Surface Flow CW in Grou (See Box 3) UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Particles matter: Transformation of suspended particles in constructed wetlands Mulling, B.T.M. Publication date 2013 Document Version Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Mulling, B. T. M. (2013). Particles matter: Transformation of suspended particles in constructed wetlands. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:04 Oct 2021 Particles matter Transformation of suspended particles in constructed wetlands ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. D.C. van den Boom ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel op woensdag 3 juli 2013, te 14:00 uur door Bram Theodorus Maria Mulling geboren te Doetinchem Promotie commissie Promotor: prof. dr. W. Admiraal Co-promotor: dr. H.G. van der Geest Overige leden: prof. dr. ir. D.P.L. Rousseau prof. dr. J.T.A. Verhoeven prof. dr. G.J. Medema prof. dr. K. Kalbitz prof. dr. W.P. de Voogt Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica This research was supported by Stichting Waternet and the Foundation for Applied Water Research (STOWA), Witteveen+Bos and Wetterskip Fryslân. The study was conducted at the department of Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology (AEE), Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam (UvA). Cover design by Bram T.M. Mulling Printed by Ipskamp Drukkers BV ISBN: 978-94-91407-10-9 Copyright © 2013 by Bram T.M. Mulling Contents Chapter 1 General Introduction 7 Chapter 2 Physical and biological changes of suspended particles in 21 constructed wetlands Chapter 3 Changes in the planktonic microbial community during 41 residence in a constructed wetland Chapter 4 Processes removing faecal indicator organisms in constructed 61 wetlands Chapter 5 Trapping of bacterial cells and latex micro-spheres in natural 87 and cultured phototrophic biofilms Chapter 6 Suspended particle and pathogen peak discharge buffering by a 103 surface flow constructed wetland Chapter 7 Concluding remarks 125 Summary 139 Samenvatting 145 Acknowledgements 151 Curriculum vitae 155 Chapter 1 General introduction Chapter 1 Discharge of municipal wastewater is one of the major factors threatening aquatic ecosystems across the globe. Originating from urban areas, municipal wastewater consists of a complex and variable mixture of constituents of anthropogenic origin, including pharmaceuticals, surfactants, emulsions, Box 1: Suspended matter classification pesticides, herbicides, self-care residues, drugs, hormones, nutrients, plankton, Suspended matter is defined as the filterable matter pathogens and organic and inorganic in the water column (Wotton 1994). In general particles (Kadlec and Wallace 2008; suspended matter is a complex mixture of organic and Tchobanoglous 2004). The majority of inorganic particles with different origins, natures, and these constituents are removed by regular properties, including size, form, density, specific surface wastewater treatment, but discharge of area, surface charge, binding capacity and chemical treated municipal wastewater can still have composition. Inorganic particles include mineral profound impacts on receiving surface clays, sand, silt, manmade materials and metal oxides. waters (Holeton et al. 2011). One of the Organic particles or particulate organic matter (POM) key factors causing this impact is often contain both living organisms (plankton), which can be overlooked: the discharge of allochthonous further specified by taxonomic identification, and dead suspended matter, changing many biological matter (detritus) (Fig. 1.3). processes and functions in the receiving 1.00001mm 1.0000 1.0000 CPOM aquatic ecosystems (Holeton et al. 2011; Sand Mesoplankton particles Kalff 2002). Suspended matter in treated 100µm0.1000 0.1000 0.1000 Mesoplankton Microplankton Sand Microplankton CPOM wastewater consists of a complex mixture FPOM Silt Silt Nanoplankton FPOM of organic and inorganic particles of 0.010010µm 0.0100 0.0100 ClayNanoplankton Picoplankton DOM anthropogenic origin (see box 1), and is Femtoplankton Suspended 0.00101µm 0.0010 0.0010 amongst others characterized by a distinct Clay Picoplankton DOM bacterial community (Kadlec and Wallace Femtoplankton 0.1µm0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 2008; Tchobanoglous 2004; Seviour and Nielsen 2010). Fig. 1.3 The composition of suspended particles and To mitigate the effects of treated different ways of characterizing suspended particles. wastewater discharge into receiving DOM: dissolved organic matter; FPOM: fine particular surface waters additional polishing is organic matter; CPOM: coarse particular organic currently debated. The purificationmatter. capacity of wetlands (see box 2) has long been recognized and man-made constructed wetlands (CWs) are used in a wide variety of applications to improve water quality. Since the first attempts to use CWs for water quality improvements of untreated wastewater in the early 1950s, the development and use of CWs for wastewater treatment has spread across the world (Sundaravadivel and Vigneswaran 2001; Kadlec and Wallace 2008; Vymazal 2005). CWs are designed to optimize several naturally occurring physical, chemical and biological processes, like sedimentation and microbial degradation in order to reduce concentrations of the harmful constituents in (treated) wastewater (Kadlec and Wallace 2008). Many studies have demonstrated that CWs 8 General introduction indeed significantly reduce concentrations Box 2: Wetlands and ecosystem services of pollutants like, for example, nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals, suspended matter Wetlands are ecosystems with a water table at or near and pathogens (Kadlec and Wallace 2008; the land surface and function as transitional zones Zhang et al. 2011; Vymazal 1996; Vymazal between terrestrial and aquatic environments (Fig. 2007; Fisher and Acreman 2004; Cameron et al. 1.4a) (Keddy 2010). Wetlands are characterized by 2003; Reinoso et al. 2008; Vidales-Contreras the specific and characteristic vegetation adapted to et al. 2006; Vymazal 2005). However, while these environmental conditions and are recognized some studies report removal efficiencies up as highly productive ecosystems supporting a high to 90% for suspended matter (Kadlec and diversity of plants and animal species in salty, brackish Wallace 2008), other studies show very limited and freshwater environments (Keddy 2010). Several reduction or even addition of suspended types of wetlands are defined including marshes, matter (van den Boomen and Kampf 2012; swamps, bogs, temporal waters and fens. Wetlands van den Boomen et al. 2012). These large provide several ecosystems services including flood differences seem to be related to particle control, climate change mitigation and adaption, inflow concentrations, with CWs receiving water quality improvement, cultural and recreation high inflow concentrations generally showing values and are reserves of biodiversity (Fig. 1.4b) high removal of suspended particles while (Keddy 2010). CWs with low concentrations of inflowing a) particles have been observed to produce equal or slightly increased outflow concentrations (Ghermandi et al. 2007). However, most of these studies on suspended matter in wetlands focus on bulk measurements of particle concentrations and the understanding of the underlying processes involved in changing b) the physical and biological composition of suspended particles during residence in CWs is limited. A more detailed analyses of particle composition and dynamics in CWs is therefore needed to optimize the use of CWs in mitigating environmental effects of suspended matter in (treated) wastewater. Suspended particles in wetland ecosystems Fig. 1.4 a) Schematic representation of a wetland and Suspended particles have several some of the provided ecosystems services (http:// important functions in aquatic ecosystems myweb.rollins.edu) and b) Ecosystem services and are involved in many physical, chemical provided by wetlands at local and global scales and biological processes (Fig. 1.1). Particles (Holcova et al. 2009) . not only have direct effects like a decrease 9 Chapter 1 in light penetration, influencing primary production and phytoplankton community composition (Kalff 2002), but are also involved in the more complex cycling of energy and nutrients. Organic particles contain carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and other essential nutrients for living organisms and serve as a food source for many heterotrophic organisms in the aquatic food web (Wetzel 2001;
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