The design and performance of a nitrifying vertical-flow reed bed treatment system

The paper describes the design, construction and the monitoring of a vertical-flow Reed Bed Treatment System (RBTS) which achieves tertiary nitrification of the effluent from a biological filter, treating the sewage flow from a population of about 200 people. It treats the flows from toilets, kitchen laboratories and a saline wastewater. The RBTS system takes effluent from an old biological filter and produces a nitrified effluent from a two-stage intermittently-dosed system. The paper shows the long-term performance of the system over a 4 year period and also describes experiments to assess the nitrification performance using a step-feed of ammonium nitrate solution. The system shows a removal of 8-13 g NH₄-N/m³ of bed day. The design basis is shown and the operational features described.