Ecological Engineering 70 (2014) 362–365

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Ecological Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoleng

Treatment of domestic wastewater using a lab-scale activated

sludge/vertical flow subsurface constructed wetlands by using
Cyperus alternifolius
Melayib Bilgin ∗ , İsmail Şimşek, Şevket Tulun
Aksaray University, Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, 68100 Aksaray, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Activated sludge-vertical flow subsurface constructed wetland systems (VFSCW) were investigated in
Received 26 March 2014 order to remove COD and N in sewage of Aksaray. Over a study period of 25 days, the system was able
Received in revised form 5 May 2014 to achieve moderate total nitrogen removals with the range of removal efficiencies of 35.28% and 59.84%
Accepted 23 June 2014
at organic loading rates of 940 mg TN/m2 d. In the effluent of the system, COD and TN observed was
Available online 16 July 2014
higher than those by last of operation as roots of plant were decomposed and dissolved in the effluent of
the system. Conventional wastewater treatment plant could not remove N and P in sewage in order to
Keywords:
prevent eutrophication in receiving water bodies. CWs may be an economical option for N and P removal
Nitrate
Constructed wetland
in the effluent of secondary treatment such as activated sludge, trickling filter of oxidation ponds because
Domestic conventional nutrient removal is much costly and complex compared to natural treatment systems.
Natural © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Wastewater

1. Introduction wetlands can effectively remove suspended solids, organic pollut-

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are land based wastewater treat-
ment systems that consist of shallow ponds, beds, or trenches
which contain floating or emergent rooted wetland vegetation.
CWs are used in order to treat domestic wastewater from rural
areas all over the world since they were firstly applied in Germany
in the 1960s. The potential of CWs for the removal of contaminants
occurring in urban wastewater has attracted increasing interest
over the last decades, with a view to treating wastewaters from
small populations to comply with environmental regulations such
as the European Union Directive 91/271 and the US EPA Clean
Water Act (Matamoros and Bayona, 2008). An economical and eco-
logical method to treat wastewater by constructed wetlands has
been widely used in the world during the past decades. Constructed
Abbreviations: ANR, assimilative nitrate reduction; AS, active sludge; ASR, active
sludge reactor; C, carbon; COD, chemical oxygen demand; CWs, constructed wet-
lands; EPA, Environmental Protection Agency; HLR, hydraulic loading rate; HRT,
hydraulic retention time; N, nitrogen; NO3 -N, nitrate-nitrogen; P, phosphorus; SRT,
sludge retention time; SS, solids in suspension; SSFW, subsurface flow constructed
wetland; TN, total nitrogen; VSFCW, vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands;
VSS, volatile suspended solids; WHO, World Health Organization.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 3822882316; fax: +90 382 288 22 98.
E-mail address: melayib@gmail.com (M. Bilgin).
ants and nutrients from wastewater (Vymazal, 2007; Kadlec, 2008;
Peng et al., 2014). CWs provide an inexpensive and reliable method
for treating a variety of wastewaters such as sewage, landfill
leachate, mine leachate, urban storm-water, agricultural run-off,
are very efficient for nutrient removal are comparatively simple to
construct, operate, maintain and are suitable for advanced and pol-
ishing treatment if water reuse is an option (Białowiec et al., 2014).
Probably more than 100,000 CWs worldwide currently treat over
billion litres of water per day (Türker et al., 2014).
Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council indicate that
<18% of rural populations have access to sanitation services in
developing countries (Massoud et al., 2009). As of 2010, the amount
of domestic wastewater treated in Turkey is just 76% for discharged
wastewater. The discharged wastewaters have been treated by
using treatment methods such as advanced biological of 37.9%, bio-
logical of 34.3, physical of 27.6%, and natural of 0.2% (TUIK, 2012).
Methods of improving the quality of water sources and deal-
ing with domestic wastewater in rural areas have been an urgent
concern for Turkey and other countries. The application of CWs
has significantly expanded from traditional tertiary and secondary
domestic sewage treatment to the treatment of agricultural efflu-
ents, industrial effluents, landfill leachate as well as urban and high
way run off (Wu et al., 2013).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.06.032
0925-8574/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 M. Bilgin et al. / Ecological Engineering 70 (2014) 362–365
Nitrogen is one of the main causes of eutrophication in water
bodies, especially for lakes and rivers. Discharging into aquatic
systems is a precedence in constructed wetland treatment, after
the nitrogen removal in wastewater (Ye and Li, 2009; Ding et al.,
2013). Depending on the plant type and flow regime, constructed
wetlands may remove about 30–80% of nitrogen from domestic
wastewaters and may also be successfully utilized for nitrogen
removal from secondary effluents with efficiencies above 90%
(Ayaz et al., 2012).
The aim of this study is determine the treatment performance
of a lab scale vertical flow constructed wetlands planted Cyperus
alternifolius treating effluent of a model activated sludge system
feeding domestic wastewater to take attention for rural domestic
wastewater in Turkey and other developing countries. Our specific
objective was to determine the overall performance of the CWs in
removal of COD and TN from wastewaters.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. C. alternifolius and reactor system
C. alternifolius, better known as the umbrella plant is a very pop-
ular house plant and commonly grown as a marginal pond plant.
Growing to a height of 60 cm (24 in), the bracts are symmetrically
arranged in an umbrella formation and held atop elegant stems that
sway with the breeze, giving a tropical touch to the garden. This
lovely and versatile plant is easily grown and makes an excellent
ornamental waterside or marginal plant for water gardens. In the
pond the plants grow best when half submerged up to 10 cm (4 in)
on the margins of the pond. Ideally the pots should not be flooded
with water. Moderate fertilization levels are required, but avoid
high nitrogen levels (URL, 2014). C. alternifolius (umbrella grass)
is a perennial herb, which grows in humid areas or swampland. It
grows fast with strong root system. Its productivity is high and it
can form a good landscape. Cyperus spp. has been used success-
fully in small-scale gravel-bed constructed wetlands in Australia
and New Zealand (Chan et al., 2008). As identified by Hocking
(1985) the attributes that make Cyperus spp. as a potentially use-
ful plant for constructed wetlands include: year-round growth in
warm temperate regions (withstanding moderate frosts), tolerance
of hyper-eutrophic conditions and salinity, ease of propagation, and
apparent lack of serious weed potential (Hocking, 1985; Chan et al.,
2008).
An experimental activated sludge reactor (AS) following con-
structed wetland (CW) system with vertical subsurface flow
(VSFCW) was built at laboratory in Environmental Department of
Aksaray University (Fig. 3). AS reactor received domestic wastewa-
ter collected in the sewer system of the campus. AS reactor had
dimensions of 7 × 18 × 30 cm; and consisted of aeration basin of
1.5 L and sedimentation basin of 0.65 L. Aeration basin and sedi-
mentation unit was separated by a perforated plate that allowed
water transition. AS reactor was operated by using hydraulic reten-
tion time (HRT) of 9 h and sludge retention time (SRT) of 20 days
with sludge wasted from aeration tank which allowed nitrification
process. The composition in the reactor was created by using air
pump that could provide sufficient oxygen (>2 mg/L) in the aeration
basin. The effluent of AS reactor had fed to VSFCW. Latter reac-
tor had dimension of 55 cm length × 35 cm width × 25 cm height.
Gravel of 10–30 mm in diameter was filled to a depth of 5 cm fol-
lowed by an upper layer of 15 cm with sand of 1–3 mm in diameter
and water level from surface is 5 cm. C. alternifolius was selected and
transplanted into the VSFCW at a density of 20 stems/m2 . Waste-
water of 4 L/d with a hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of 20.78 mm/d
was introduced into the VSFCW.
363
Table 1
Characterization of wastewater during study period.
Parameter Values
n Xort 
pH 8 7.6 0.2
CODtotal (mg/L) 8 612.6 233.1
Total N (mg N/L) 8 66.9 12.8
Ammonium (mg NH4 + -N/L) 8 50.8 4.5
Nitrate (mg NO3 − -N/L) 8 1.3 1.6
Phosphate (mg PO4 3− /L) 6 16.9 2.3
Domestic wastewater was given to the reactors by peristaltic
pumps. Reactor and removal studies were implemented in a fixed
temperature of 25 ◦ C.
2.2. Wastewater
Domestic wastewater was taken from a sewage canal on the
campus of Aksaray University, Aksaray. This wastewater was
analyzed for characterization and performance evaluation of the
system as influent, aeration tank effluent and VSFCW effluent.
2.3. Analyses
The measurements of solids in suspension (SS), volatile sus-
pended solids (VSS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were
implemented by using standard methods (APHA, 2005). Merck
Spectroquant kits were used for measuring ammonium nitrogen
(NH4 -N). The values of pH were measured by pH 330i/SET equip-
ment (WTW Germany). Nitrate, phosphate, analyses (DIONEX
ICS-1000) were measured by the relevant instruments. Ammonium
was measured photometrically a VIS spectrophotometer (Thermo
Spectronic-Aquamate, USA) by Merc-Spectroquant kits (number:
14752) and total nitrogen (TN) measurements were realized by
TOC-TN (Shimadzu TOC-VCPN) analysis system.
Each experiment was replicated three times, and the mean val-
ues were used in the analyses. If the standard errors (SE) were
greater than 0.01, the test was repeated to control for errors.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Characterization of wastewater
The wastewater taken from the drainage in Campus area, which
removed suspended matters in pre sedimentation tank, feed to the
reactor system by water. Samples analyzed during the working
period could be seen in Table 1. Wastewater could be characterized
as very polluted when its characterization in Table 1 is evaluated
(Metcalf and Eddy, 2003; Orhon et al., 1997).
Results are very similar to previous study performed by Işık et al.
(2010) in Aksaray. The high concentration of pollutant parameters
could be linked to the cultural properties such as low water con-
sumption, industrial discharges, and personal practices (Mahmoud,
2002).
Daily water production per person could be calculated as
156 L/day ( = 65, n = 4) in studies concerning Turkey (Orhon et al.,
1997; Işık et al., 2010), while the pollutants’ values were accepted
as 68 g COD/per day, 8 g N/per day; and 1.3 g PO4 3− -P/per day. This
value of wastewater production could be related to rainfall, fewer
industrial discharge, and rates of water consumption in the region.
364 M. Bilgin et al. / Ecological Engineering 70 (2014) 362–365

Fig. 1. COD and TN removal in the reactor system.

Fig. 2. NO3 -N concentrations in the reactor system.

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of the pilot scale vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland.

3.2. COD removal in the reactor system
The organic matter removal was inspected by observing COD
during the operating time. COD removal percentages could be seen
in Fig. 1. COD removal efficiencies were obtained as 82% (n = 8,
 = 6) in AS reactor, 77% (n = 8,  = 11) and 80% (n = 45,  = 6) in
the system. The removal efficiencies of AS reactor were obtained
as the range of efficiencies of general biological treatment. How-
ever, note that COD removal efficiencies were decreased by the
last time of operation as root of plants can be decomposed and
dissolved and so COD of effluent may increased to higher value in
the VSFCW.
3.3. Nitrogen conversions and removals of the system
The variations of activated sludge and system effluent, TN
removal efficiencies during the experimental period are shown in
Fig. 1.
On the whole, the CW systems could slightly remove nitro-
gen pollutants from the nitrified wastewater, with overall removal
 M. Bilgin et al. / Ecological Engineering 70 (2014) 362–365
efficiencies and loading rates of 46.6% and 940 mg/m2 d for TN.
Effective nitrogen removals were achieved in an integrated ver-
tical flow constructed wetland systems under inflow COD:N of
1.67, with mean removal efficiencies of 56.2% and 55.1% and mass
removal rates of 762.1 mg/m2 d and 819.7 mg/m2 d for nitrate and
TN, respectively (Chang et al., 2013).
At the beginning of operation AS reactor did not nitrify ammo-
nium to nitrate, as possibly nitrification bacteria was not in enough
population. After the 8th day of operation, NO3 appeared in the
effluent of VSFCW reactor.
Treated wastewater from conventional activated sludge waste-
water treatment plants with nitrification generally contains
relatively high concentrations of nitrate but low levels of organic
matter. Wetlands have recently been suggested as an alternative for
treating nitrate contaminated aquifers, denitrification of nitrified
sewage effluents and irrigation return flow. Denitrification effi-
ciency in wetlands treating high-nitrate waters with low organic
carbon has been shown to depend on C:N ratio, with peak effi-
ciencies occurring at C:N ratios> 5:1 (Baker, 1998). By the last
of operation C:N ratio reached to maximum levels due to higher
C from decomposition of roots and NO3 -N concentrations, which
stimulate denitrification in CW particularly after the 15th day of
operation (Fig. 2). Carbon source has been substantially proven to
be a crucial limiting factor for nitrate removal especially when the
COD:N was below 3:1 (Misiti et al., 2011).
In the total nitrogen removal, denitrification, plant assimila-
tion, immobilization and assimilative nitrate reduction (ANR) are
the main processes involving in nitrogen removal of nitrate-laden
wastewater in CWs, which could account for 77%, 9%, 11% and 2%
respectively (Matheson and Sukias, 2010).
4. Conclusions
The findings of this study have shown that the sequential
AS/VSFCW system was efficient in the removal of COD and N
removal. The NO3 -N removal efficiencies were obtained as 97% at
nitrate loading rates of 245 mg/m2 d in VSFCF while the mean per-
centage of TN removal was 46.6% (n = 8,  = 9.5) in the AS/VSFCW
system. Based on experimental results of this and other stud-
ies nutrient (N, P) removal is possible and these systems are
very cost effective compared to classic nutrient removal sys-
tem. Constructed wetlands have been implemented as wastewater
treatment facilities in many parts of the world, but to date,
the technology has been largely ignored in developing countries
where effective, low cost wastewater treatment strategies are crit-
ically needed. Conventional wastewater treatment plant could not
remove N and P in sewage in order to prevent eutrophication in
receiving water bodies. CWs may be an economical option for
N and P removal in the effluent of secondary treatment such
as activated sludge, trickling filter of oxidation ponds because
conventional nutrient removal is much costly and complex com-
pared to natural treatment systems such as CW and oxidation
ponds.
Acknowledgement
We thank the Environmental Engineering Department of
Aksaray University for providing the laboratory equipment for the
work described in this paper.
365
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Glossary
Constructed wetland: An artificial wetland created as a new or restored habitat for
native and migratory wildlife, for anthropogenic discharge such as wastewa-
ter, stormwater runoff, or sewage treatment, for land reclamation after mining,
refineries, or other ecological disturbances such as required mitigation for nat-
ural areas lost to a development.
Domestic wastewater: Wastewater comes from ordinary living processes: bathing,
toilet flushing, laundry, dishwashing, etc.
Nitrate: Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO3 − and a molecular
mass of 62.0049 g/mol.