To improve the treatment of ground- and wastewater in constructed wetlands (CWs), her research explored N-isotope transformation in the removal of ammonium (N-transformation) from contaminated groundwater in pilot-scale CWs of the chemical industrial area Leuna, Germany, and the role of aerobic and anaerobic microbial processes for the removal of this pollutant.
After a painstaking and extensive study, Oksana presented her results in an oral presentation at the Wetpol 2013 conference in Nantes, France under the heading "Microbial nitrogen transformation in constructed wetlands treating contaminated groundwater".
She spoke about the results of N-isotope fractionation in constructed wetlands and molecular biology results including ANAMMOX process. In conclusion, according to the isotope results, ammonium oxidation seems to proceed in a straightforward manner along the flow path. In contrast, due to superimposition, no clear evidence is provided by the isotope results for denitrification.
