Factors influencing gaseous emissions in constructed wetlands: a meta-analysis and systematic review
Article
Hu, S., Zhu, H., Bañuelos, G., Shutes, B., Wang, X., Hou, S. and Yan, B. 2023. Factors influencing gaseous emissions in constructed wetlands: a meta-analysis and systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20 (5). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20053876
Type | Article |
---|---|
Title | Factors influencing gaseous emissions in constructed wetlands: a meta-analysis and systematic review |
Authors | Hu, S., Zhu, H., Bañuelos, G., Shutes, B., Wang, X., Hou, S. and Yan, B. |
Abstract | Constructed wetlands (CWs) are an eco-technology for wastewater treatment and are applied worldwide. Due to the regular influx of pollutants, CWs can release considerable quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs), ammonia (NH3), and other atmospheric pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), etc., which will aggravate global warming, degrade air quality and even threaten human health. However, there is a lack of systematic understanding of factors affecting the emission of these gases in CWs. In this study, we applied meta-analysis to quantitatively review the main influencing factors of GHG emission from CWs; meanwhile, the emissions of NH3, VOCs, and H2S were qualitatively assessed. Meta-analysis indicates that horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) CWs emit less CH4 and N2O than free water surface flow (FWS) CWs. The addition of biochar can mitigate N2O emission compared to gravel-based CWs but has the risk of increasing CH4 emission. Polyculture CWs stimulate CH4 emission but pose no influence on N2O emission compared to monoculture CWs. The influent wastewater characteristics (e.g., C/N ratio, salinity) and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature) can also impact GHG emission. The NH3 volatilization from CWs is positively related to the influent nitrogen concentration and pH value. High plant species richness tends to reduce NH3 volatilization and plant composition showed greater effects than species richness. Though VOCs and H2S emissions from CWs do not always occur, it should be a concern when using CWs to treat wastewater containing hydrocarbon and acid. This study provides solid references for simultaneously achieving pollutant removal and reducing gaseous emission from CWs, which avoids the transformation of water pollution into air contamination. |
Keywords | Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health |
Sustainable Development Goals | 3 Good health and well-being |
6 Clean water and sanitation | |
13 Climate action | |
14 Life below water | |
15 Life on land | |
Middlesex University Theme | Sustainability |
Publisher | MDPI AG |
Journal | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
ISSN | 1661-7827 |
Publication dates | |
22 Feb 2023 | |
Online | 22 Feb 2023 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 03 Mar 2023 |
Submitted | 11 Jan 2023 |
Accepted | 17 Feb 2023 |
Output status | Published |
Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
Copyright Statement | © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20053876 |
Language | English |
https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/8q4w2
Download files
49
total views4
total downloads0
views this month1
downloads this month