Natural and Constructed Wetlands for Pollution Remediation

加拿大作为全球自然资源供应国的地位受到挑战，因为缺乏可持续和具有成本效益的解决方案来处理与碳氢化合物开采(水力压裂、油砂)、采矿以及工业、农业和市政废水排放有关的大规模水污染。这项拟议的研究调查了天然和人工(也称为工程或处理)湿地在处理大规模水污染方面的应用。这项研究的具体目标是调查在加拿大特定的气候条件和设计规范下，人工湿地或天然湿地以高效和环境安全的方式从废水中去除污染物的能力。这项研究包括开发和实验测试一个定量的数学质量平衡模型，该模型描述了与湿地中沥青和金属提取相关的污染物的环境命运和毒理效应。该模型将描述不同的湿地设计特性(例如大小、水流特性、植被覆盖)和环境条件(例如温度)对从流入废水中去除化学物质的效率的影响。该模型还将能够随着时间的推移评估湿地动植物中的污染物浓度，并通过将浓度与毒性阈值进行比较来确定湿地处理是否对环境安全。这个模型将建立在我们之前关于污染物在水生系统中命运模型上的工作的基础上。作为这项研究的一部分，该模型的性能将在SFU阿尔坎水生研究中心的小型实验室人工湿地进行实验测试。将通过其他方式寻找进一步实地测试的机会。这项研究还包括开发测量和估计通过(生物)转化和分配在沉积物、土壤和湿地植被中去除化学物质的速率的方法。转化和分配都是湿地污染物环境归宿的关键过程，仍然很难预测。为此，我们计划进一步开发和应用我们的薄膜吸附剂定量方法，用于同时测量转化率和未结合的化学成分。该方法为湿地质量平衡模型中植被、泥沙、土壤和水的转化速率和分配系数的测量提供了一种合适且有前景的方法。最后，将研究结果应用于提出在加拿大可行、有效且环境安全的湿地处理设计方案。这些模型还将用于探索自然湿地对与加拿大资源开采实践相关的长期污染物输入的反应。这项研究旨在通过培训和支持能够在加拿大和其他国家应用和进一步开发这项技术的新一代环境顾问、工程师和科学家，来填补加拿大在这项绿色技术方面的明显和公认的空白。拟议的研究利用了我们在模拟环境命运和化学污染物在水生和陆地生态系统中的影响方面的国际公认专门知识，以及我们在测量和模拟生物转变对沉积物中化学命运和水生和陆地食物网中化学生物积累的影响方面的专门知识。

Canada’s position as a global supplier of natural resources is challenged by the lack of sustainable and cost effective solutions to deal with the large scale water contamination associated with hydrocarbon extraction (fracking, oil sands), mining and industrial, agricultural and municipal waste water releases. The proposed research investigates the application of natural and constructed (also referred to as engineered or treatment) wetlands to treat large scale water contamination. The specific goal of this research is to investigate the ability of wetlands, either constructed or natural, to remove contaminants from waste waters in an efficient and environmentally safe manner under Canadian specific climate conditions and design specifications. The research includes the development and experimental testing of a quantitative, mathematical mass balance model of the environmental fate and toxicological effects of contaminants associated with bitumen and metal extraction in wetlands. The model will describe the effect of various wetlands design characteristics (e.g. size, water flow characteristics, vegetation cover) and environmental conditions (e.g. temperature) on the efficiency of chemical removal from inflowing waste waters. The model will also be able to assess contaminant concentrations in wetland flora and fauna over time and determine whether wetland treatment is environmentally safe by comparing concentrations to threshold values for toxicity. This model will build on our previous work on models of the fate of contaminants in aquatic systems. As part of this study, the performance of the model will be experimentally tested in small scale laboratory housed constructed wetlands at SFU’s Alcan Aquatic Research Center. Opportunities for further field testing will be sought out through other means. The research also includes the development of methods for the measurement and estimation of the rates of chemical removal through (bio) transformation and partitioning in sediments, soils and vegetation of wetlands. Both transformation and partitioning are key processes in the environmental fate of contaminants in wetlands and remain difficult to predict. To do this, we plan to further develop and apply our thin-film sorbent dosing methods for simultaneous measurement of transformation rates and unbound chemical fractions. This method provides a suitable and promising method for making measurements of both transformation rates and partition coefficients in vegetation, sediment, soil and water that are useful in the wetland mass balance model. Finally, the results of the research will be applied to propose wetland treatment design scenarios that are feasible in Canada and effective and environmentally safe. The models will also be applied to explore the response of natural wetlands to long term contaminant inputs associated with resource extraction practices in Canada. The research aims to fill an apparent and recognized gap in this green technology in Canada by training and supporting a new generation of environmental consultants, engineers and scientists who can apply and further develop this technology in Canada and other countries. The proposed research takes advantage of our internationally recognized expertise in modeling the environmental fate and effects of chemical contaminants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as well as our expertise in measuring and modeling the effect of biological transformation on chemical fate in sediments and chemical bioaccumulation in aquatic and terrestrial food-webs.