Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Water and Wastewater Management
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1525757

CFD-Based Study of Flow Field Characteristics and Clogging in Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetlands

Provisionally accepted
Wen Liu Wen Liu 1Kai Yang Kai Yang 1Xianqiu Zeng Xianqiu Zeng 1,2Yiyong Li Yiyong Li 1Mengyao Zou Mengyao Zou 1Shitao Li Shitao Li 1Yili Deng Yili Deng 1Wei Qian Wei Qian 1*
  • 1 College of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 College of College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The flow field distribution and clogging process in HFCWs are complex, the hydraulic characteristics, distribution and size of dead zone of HFCW were studied by using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The results showed that (1) The ceramsite system's filtration efficacy in treating wastewater is primarily driven by deep filtration processes. The distribution of water flow within the ceramsite wetland system is more homogenous than that observed in the blast furnace slag wetland system. Furthermore, the ceramsite system exhibits enhanced utilization of the primary bed area, the underlying drainage layer, and the catchment zone. (2)The blast furnace slag system possesses a smaller porosity and particle size distribution, which results in non-uniform flow rates and pressure distributions. Consequently, this system is prone to clogging, leading to a decline in both hydraulic performance and the overall functionality of the wetland. (3) The ceramsite system exhibits a lower occurrence of dead zones within the main bed compared to the blast furnace slag system, with a reduction of 12.58% and 27.93% in the dead zone percentages, respectively. This suggests that the ceramsite system outperforms the blast furnace slag system in terms of hydraulic efficiency, resistance to clogging, and contaminant removal efficacy.

    Keywords: CFD, tracer experiments, constructed wetlands, Dead zone distribution, Hydraulic characteristics

    Received: 11 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Yang, Zeng, Li, Zou, Li, Deng and Qian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wei Qian, College of Resources and Environment, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, 510550, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.