Revolutionizing Nitrogen Removal in Cold Climates with Wetland Technology!
A study in Birjand, Iran, looked at using wetlands to remove nitrogen from wastewater in a cold, dry climate. They built six cells and found that planted cells with Phragmitesaustralis removed more TKN and NH4+ than unplanted cells, but unplanted cells removed more NO3-. Cells with fine gravel removed more TKN and NH4+ but less NO3- than cells with coarse gravel. Lowering the water flow rate increased TKN removal but decreased NH4+ and NO3- removal. To improve nitrogen removal, they suggest using a hybrid wetland system.