Simulation of the treatment performance of outdoor subsurface flow constructed wetlands in temperate climates

Numerical models are a means to increase the understanding of the processes occurring in the “black box” constructed wetland. Once reliable models for constructed wetlands are available they can be also used for evaluating and improving existing design criteria. The paper shows simulation results for outdoor experimental subsurface vertical flow constructed wetlands using CW2D, a multi-component reactive transport module developed to simulate transport and reactions of the organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus in subsurface flow constructed wetlands. The surface area of the experimental vertical flow bed was 20 m2. The organic load applied was 27 g COD m− 2 d− 1 (corresponding to a specific surface area of 3 m2 per person). The aim of the work is to calibrate the model for temperature dependency that has been implemented in CW2D. Water temperature during the investigation period varied between 4 °C and 18 °C. The measured effluent concentrations during summer could be simulated using the standard CW2D parameter set when the flow model was calibrated well. However, the increasing effluent concentrations at low temperatures could not be simulated with the standard CW2D parameter set where temperature dependencies are considered only for maximum growth, decay, and hydrolysis rates. By introducing temperature dependencies for half-saturation constants for the hydrolysis and nitrification processes it was possible to simulate the observed behaviour. The work presented is a step on the way to validate the CW2D module. Model validation is a necessary step before numerical simulation can be finally used in practice, e.g. for checking existing design guidelines.