Research Information System
Current Trends in Natural Sciences, vol.7, no.14, pp.69-75, 2018 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Phosphorus (P) is commonly considered as the limiting nutrient with respect to the eutrophication of water bodies.
Therefore, wastewater treatment plants, either conventional or natural, must meet maximum P discharge limits. While
various chemicals are used in conventional wastewater treatment plants, substrate materials play significant roles in
phosphorus removal in natural treatment systems, also called constructed wetlands. Constructed wetland technology is
commonly used for domestic wastewater treatment especially in rural sections. Emergent aquatic plants are grown in
specially designed basins filled with substrate material to filter pollutants from wastewaters. Phosphorus removal is
largely dependent on surface characteristics and pore structure of the substrate materials used in constructed wetland
basins. Pumice and zeolite-like volcanic originated natural materials and fly ask like waste materials are commonly
used to enhance phosphorus removal efficiency of substrate materials. These materials mostly used in certain mixture
ratios with sand and gravel filter material. In this study, information was provided about general phosphorus removal
mechanisms, surface characteristics of different substrate materials and their phosphorus removal efficiencies.