Influence of packing media on nitrogen removal in a subsurface infiltration system

Influence of packing media on nitrogen removal in a subsurface infiltration system was studied. System A was filled with loamy soil and system B was filled with mixed soil of 75% red clay with 25% cinder. Both systems were fed with sewage at the same hydraulic loading of 2 cm/d at continuous operation mode. The same excellent removal performances of COD and T-P could be achieved in both infiltration systems with removal rates about 85% and 98%, respectively. In system A, NH +_4-N removal rate was as high as 96.5% and T-N removal rate was relatively much lower as 55.7%. And in system B, NH +_4-N removal rate was as low as 75.4% and T-N removal rate was relatively much higher as 75.5%. The difference was attributed to different soil oxidation-reduction condition that was greatly influenced by soil texture in subsurface infiltration system. Loamy soil led to oxidative condition that was favorable to nitrification and disadvantageous to denitrification. The results were just adverse to the system filled with clay. Intermittent operation was adopted to improve nitrogen removal in system B. NH +_4-N removal rate could be increased to about 95% and T-N removal rate could be increased to about 90% at intermittent operation mode in system B. Analysis of nitrogen removal mechanisms indicated that nitrification-denitrification was the primary nitrogen removal path in subsurface infiltration system and crop uptake was another important nitrogen removal way. It was the key to improve the total N removal performance that a suitable packing soil was available to present favorable oxidation-reduction condition for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification.

Application of subsurface wastewater infiltration system to on-site treatment of domestic sewage under high hydraulic loading rate

In order to enhance the hydraulic loading rate （HLR） of a subsurface wastewater infiltration system （SWIS） used in treating domestic sewage, the intermittent operation mode was employed in the SWIS. The results show that the intermittent operation mode contributes to the improvement of the HLR and the pollutant removal rate. When the wetting-drying ratio （RwD） was 1.0, the pollutant removal rate increased by （13.6 ± 0.3）% for NH3-N, （20.7 ± 1.1）% for TN, （18.6± 0.4）% for TP, （12.2 ± 0.5）% for BOD, （10.1 ± 0.3）% for COD, and （36.2 ± 1.2）% for SS, compared with pollutant removal rates under the continuous operation mode. The pollutant removal rate declined with the increase of the HLR. The effluent quality met The Reuse of Urban Recycling Water - Water Quality Standard for Scenic Environment Use （GB/T 18921-2002） even when the HLR was as high as 10 cm/d. Hydraulic conductivity, oxidation reduction potential （ORP）, the quantity of nitrifying bacteria, and the pollutant removal rate of NH3-N increased with the decrease of the RWD. For the pollutant removal rates of TP, BOD, and COD, there were no significant difference （p 〈 0.05） under different RwDS. The suggested RWD was 1.0. Relative contribution of the pretreatment and SWlS to the pollutant removal was examined, and more than 80% removal of NH3-N, TN, TP, COD, and BOD occurred in the SWIS.

Effect of Pretreatment on Physico-Chemical Parameters of Matrix and Pollutant Removals in Subsurface Wastewater Infiltration System

Two pilot subsurface wastewater infdtrafion systems （SWISs） were filled with the same mixed matrix and operated in the intermittent feeding mode with hydraulic loading of 0. 1 m3/ （m2 d） for 140 d. One of SWISs was fed with wastewater which was previously settled （ ST）, and the other with the same wastewater but in addition treated with a coagulation process （CT）. After 140 d of operation, in the upper layer of ST system the effective porosity decreased by 4.1% and the organic matter （OM） content increased by 246.4 %, whereas only decreased by 0.7 % and increased by 35. 7% of CT system, respectively. During the study, dogging didn＇t occur in CT system and occurred in ST system. Effluent chemical oxygen demand （COD）, total phosphorus （TP） and ammonia nitrogen （NH4＋ --N ） concentrations in CT system were less than those in ST system. In ST system, effluent COD, TP, NH4＋ --N concentrations increased and suspended solid （SS） concentration decreased after dogging. The results indicated that the use of a prior coagulation treatment was a good alternative for improving the effluent quality and avoiding an anticipated dogging.

A New Soil Infiltration Technology for Decentralized Sewage Treatment:Two-Stage Anaerobic Tank and Soil Trench System

The low removal efficiency of total nitrogen （TN） is one of the main disadvantages of traditional single stage subsurface infiltration system, which combines an anaerobic tank and a soil filter field. In this study, a full-scale, two-stage anaerobic tank and soil trench system was designed and operated to evaluate the feasibility and performances in treating sewage from a school campus for over a one-year monitoring period. The raw sewage was prepared and fed into the first anaerobic tank and second tank by 60% and 40%, respectively. This novel process could decrease chemical oxygen demand with the dichromate method by 89%-96%, suspended solids by 91%-97%, and total phosphorus by 91%-97%. The denitrification was satisfactory in the second stage soil trench, so the removals of TN as well as ammonia nitrogen （NH4^＋-N） reached 68%-75% and 96% 99%, respectively. It appeared that the removal efficiency of TN in this two-stage anaerobic tank and soil trench system was more effective than that in the single stage soil infiltration system. The effluent met the discharge standard for the sewage treatment plant （GB18918-2002） of China.

Nitrogen Removal Improvement by Adding Peat in Deep Soil of Subsurface Wastewater Infi ltration System

In order to enhance the nitrogen removal, a subsurface wastewater infiltration system （SWIS） was improved by adding peat in deep soil as carbon source for denitrification process. The effects of addition of carbon source in the underpart of the SWIS on nitrogen removal at different influents （with the total nitrogen （TN） concentration 40 and 80 mg L^-1, respectively） were investigated by soil column simulating experiments. When the relatively light pollution influent with 40 mg L^-1 TN was used, the average concentrations of NO3-N and TN in effluents were （4.69±0.235）, （6.18±0.079） mg L^-1, respectively, decreased by 32 and 30.8% than the control; the NO3--N concentration of all effluents was below the maximum contaminant level of 10 mg L^-1; as high as 92.67% of the TN removal efficiency was achieved. When relatively heavy pollution influent with 80 mg LITN was used, the average concentrations of NO3--N and TN in effluents were （10.2±0.265）, （12.5±0.148） mg L^-1 respectively, decreased by 20 and 21.2% than the control; the NO3--N concentration of all effluents met the grade Ⅲ of the national quality standard for ground water of China （GB/T 14848-1993） with the values less than 20 mg L^-1; the TN removal efficiency of 94.1% was achieved. In summary, adding peat in the underpart of the SWIS significantly decreased TN and NO3- -N concentration in effluents and the nitrogen removal efficiency improved significantly.

Study on Treatment Technologies of Decentralized Domestic Sewage

The significance and necessity of decentralized domestic sewage treatment were introduced firstly, and then three main decentralized technologies of domestic sewage such as constructed wetlands, subsurface infiltration and purification tanks in China and abroad were discussed.