Constructed wetlands using recycled aggregates for the improved treatment of tailwater

Recycled aggregates from the construction industry could be effective materials for constructed wetland (CW) wastewater treatment systems. However, whether the plants or which kinds of plants can survive in CWs with recycled aggregates or not is still scarce and urgent to study. The effects of different plant species, and several operation parameters on tailwater treatment from the sewage plants by CWs with different substrates (mixed construction recycled aggregate [MCRA], red brick [RB], and gravel) are systemically studied. The results showed that the average removal efficiencies of the chemical parameters in MCRA-CWs with seven plants, such as Cyperus alternifolius, were higher than those of RB-CWs and Gravel-CWs. In the MCRA-CWs, the average removal efficiencies of Typha orientalis, Cyperus alternifolius, and Phragmites australis were 77.58%, 75.09%, and 73.16%, respectively, which were higher than those of the other plants. Meanwhile, Proteobacteria had the highest relative abundances in MCRA and RB at 54.98% and 69.22%, respectively, whereas Cyanobacteria (35.21%) were the most abundant in the gravel. The influence of season on water purification was significant (p < 0.05) in the MCRA. Overall, water quality purification was dependent on season, HRT, and C/N, which accounted for 86.1%, 13%, and 7.1%, respectively. The highest average removal efficiencies of the MCRA-CWs were 71.98% (COD), 85.58% (NH₄⁺-N), 95.01% (TN), and 84.11% (TP) when the HRT was 3 d and C/N ratio was 2.5 in the summer. This indicates that treated recycled construction aggregates could be used as substrates in CWs and have both wastewater purification and environmental improvement effects, thus achieving the purpose of “treating the wastes with wastes”.