Removal of Wastewater-Derived Contaminants in Treatment Wetlands

[0853512] sedlake城市污水排放作为饮用水供应和水生生物栖息地正变得越来越重要。然而，最近的报告将废水中的化学污染物与对鱼类的不利影响以及公众对饮用水供应安全的信心下降联系起来，因此需要从废水中去除微量的有机化合物浓度。虽然先进的处理系统，如反渗透膜，可以去除许多污染物，但高成本，能源消耗和废物的产生可能限制其未来的应用。尽管缺乏对其设计或功效的了解，但处理湿地正在世界范围内安装，作为从废水中去除微量有机污染物浓度的另一种方法。该项目的主要目标是了解处理湿地中污染物去除的机制，这将使工程师能够预测处理效率并优化特定污染物的去除。该项目的智力价值主要与测试有关污染物去除机制的假设的努力有关。通过使用定制的处理湿地系统和一套可用于区分不同去除机制的探针化合物，我们将推进处理湿地设计和操作的科学水平。将进行实验，以评估作为微生物在废水污染物生物转化中的底物的大型植物的作用。通过控制植物的种类和碳向湿地输送的速率，我们假设有可能增强化学污染物的衰减。还将进行实验，以评估以一种通过光化学反应加强去除污染物的方式操作浅层湿地的可能性。通过耦合依赖于不同衰减机制的湿地细胞，它将导致开发一种低维护，廉价的处理系统，有效地去除广泛的化合物。该项目的更广泛影响与研究的两个方面有关。首先，该项目将通过招募志愿者作为研究参与者和合作伙伴向公众传播我们的发现，使进行实地实验的社区参与进来。如果研究表明可以建立有效的处理湿地，该镇可能会建立一个全面的处理湿地，这将成为对废水污染物带来的挑战的可持续解决方案感兴趣的社区的典范。该项目为国家科学基金会更广泛的影响目标做出贡献的第二种方式是，通过将本科生纳入一个创新项目，为学生提供指导和支持，使他们能够追求更高的学位，从而培养传统上代表性不足的群体的学生。

0853512SedlakMunicipal wastewater effluent is becoming increasingly important both as a potable water supply and a habitat for aquatic organisms. However, recent reports linking chemical contaminants in wastewater effluent with adverse impacts to fish as well as decreased confidence of the public in the safety of potable water supplies has led to a need to remove trace concentrations of organic compounds from effluent. While advanced treatment systems, such as reverse osmosis membranes, can remove many contaminants, high costs, energy consumption and production of wastes are likely to limit their future application. Despite a lack of knowledge about their design or efficacy, treatment wetlands are being installed worldwide as an alternative means of removing trace concentrations of organic contaminants from wastewater effluent. The principal objective of this project is to develop an understanding of the mechanisms of contaminant removal in treatment wetlands that will allow engineers to predict treatment efficiency and to optimize the removal of specific contaminants.The intellectual merits of the project are related primarily to efforts to test hypotheses about mechanisms of contaminant removal. Through the use of a custom-built treatment wetland system and a suite of probe compounds that can be used to discriminate between different removal mechanisms, we will advance the state of science in treatment wetland design and operation. Experiments will be conducted to assess the role of macrophytes that serve as substrates for microorganisms in the biotransformation of wastewater-derived contaminants. By manipulating the types of plants and the rates at which carbon is delivered to the wetland, we hypothesize that it will be possible to enhance the attenuation of chemical contaminants. Experiments also will be conducted to assess the potential for operating shallow wetlands in a manner that enhances the removal of contaminants through photochemical reactions. By coupling wetland cells that rely upon different attenuation mechanisms, it will lead to the development of a low maintenance, inexpensive treatment system that effectively removes a broad suite of compounds.The broader impacts of the project are related to two aspects of the research. First, the project will engage the community where the field experiments are being conducted by enlisting volunteers as research participants and as partners in communicating our findings to the public. If the research shows that effective treatment wetlands can be built, the town is likely to build a full-scale treatment wetland that will serve as a model for communities interested in sustainable solutions to challenges posed by wastewater-derived contaminants. The second way in which the project contributes to NSF's broader impacts objective involves the training of students from traditionally underrepresented groups, by including undergraduates in an innovative program that provides mentorship and support to enable students to pursue advanced degrees.