scholarly journals Effectiveness of Denitrifying Bioreactors on Water Pollutant Reduction from Agricultural Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 641-658
Author(s):  
Laura E. Christianson ◽  
Richard A. Cooke ◽  
Christopher H. Hay ◽  
Matthew J. Helmers ◽  
Gary W. Feyereisen ◽  
...  

HighlightsDenitrifying woodchip bioreactors treat nitrate-N in a variety of applications and geographies.This review focuses on subsurface drainage bioreactors and bed-style designs (including in-ditch).Monitoring and reporting recommendations are provided to advance bioreactor science and engineering.Abstract. Denitrifying bioreactors enhance the natural process of denitrification in a practical way to treat nitrate-nitrogen (N) in a variety of N-laden water matrices. The design and construction of bioreactors for treatment of subsurface drainage in the U.S. is guided by USDA-NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 605. This review consolidates the state of the science for denitrifying bioreactors using case studies from across the globe with an emphasis on full-size bioreactor nitrate-N removal and cost-effectiveness. The focus is on bed-style bioreactors (including in-ditch modifications), although there is mention of denitrifying walls, which broaden the applicability of bioreactor technology in some areas. Subsurface drainage denitrifying bioreactors have been assessed as removing 20% to 40% of annual nitrate-N loss in the Midwest, and an evaluation across the peer-reviewed literature published over the past three years showed that bioreactors around the world have been generally consistent with that (N load reduction median: 46%; mean ±SD: 40% ±26%; n = 15). Reported N removal rates were on the order of 5.1 g N m-3 d-1 (median; mean ±SD: 7.2 ±9.6 g N m-3 d-1; n = 27). Subsurface drainage bioreactor installation costs have ranged from less than $5,000 to $27,000, with estimated cost efficiencies ranging from less than $2.50 kg-1 N year-1 to roughly $20 kg-1 N year-1 (although they can be as high as $48 kg-1 N year-1). A suggested monitoring setup is described primarily for the context of conservation practitioners and watershed groups for assessing annual nitrate-N load removal performance of subsurface drainage denitrifying bioreactors. Recommended minimum reporting measures for assessing and comparing annual N removal performance include: bioreactor dimensions and installation date; fill media size, porosity, and type; nitrate-N concentrations and water temperatures; bioreactor flow treatment details; basic drainage system and bioreactor design characteristics; and N removal rate and efficiency. Keywords: Groundwater, Nitrate, Nonpoint-source pollution, Subsurface drainage, Tile.

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Hitomi ◽  
I. Yoshinaga ◽  
Y.W. Feng ◽  
E. Shiratani

The purpose of this study was to clarify the nitrogen (N) purification capacity of a paddy field in a recycling irrigation system. Irrigation water was sampled at 12-h intervals during the irrigation period from April to September 2003. In addition, ponded water in a paddy field was collected at three points (inlet, centre and outlet). Total amounts of N were 30.7 kg ha−1 in inflow and 27.8 kg ha−1 in outflow. Thus, the net outflow load was −2.9 kg ha−1. The N removal rate constant when N removal is expressed as a 1st-order kinetic was 0.017–0.024 m d−1. This value is close to values of wetlands and paddy fields in the literature. We found a good correlation between recycling ratio and N removal effect. These results indicate that the recycling irrigation system accumulates N in the irrigation/drainage system, and thus the paddy field does a good job of water purification by removing N.


2012 ◽  
Vol 568 ◽  
pp. 89-93
Author(s):  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Zheng Yang Yang ◽  
Li Li Wang ◽  
Xu Ying Zhao ◽  
Huan Guang Liu ◽  
...  

In this study, effect of C/N ratio on denitrification were investigated using four sets of parallel catching bed reactors, which were using acrylic resin fiber (ARF) as carrier materials. The results indicate that this process which was used in wastewater treatment of civil engineering can get better COD and nitrogen removing performance. NH4+-N removal rate reduced with the increasing of C/N ratio, and the average removal rate of COD and the total nitrogen (TN) increased when C/N ratio is increased. When C/N ratio exceeded 12, TN removal rate has no obvious growing. Meanwhile, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis indicated that the biomass in the biofilm were much richer than which in the suspension, and the ammonia oxidizing bacteria have a easy access to be dominant bacterial community in lower C/N ratio.


2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 3061-3069 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Khanitchaidecha ◽  
T. Nakamura ◽  
T. Sumino ◽  
F. Kazama

To study the effect of intermittent aeration period on ammonium–nitrogen (NH4-N) removal from groundwater resources, synthetic groundwater was prepared and three reactors were operated under different conditions – “reactor A” under continuous aeration, “reactor B” under 6 h intermittent aeration, and “reactor C” under 2 h intermittent aeration. To facilitate denitrification simultaneously with nitrification, “acetate” was added as an external carbon source with step-wise increase from 0.5 to 1.5 C/N ratio, where C stands for total carbon content in the system, and N for NH4-N concentration in the synthetic groundwater. Results show that complete NH4-N removal was obtained in “reactor B” and “reactor C” at 1.3 and 1.5 C/N ratio respectively; and partial NH4-N removal in “reactor A”. These results suggest that intermittent aeration at longer interval could enhance the reactor performance on NH4-N removal in terms of efficiency and low external carbon requirement. Because of consumption of internal carbon by the process, less amount of external carbon is required. Further increase in carbon in a form of acetate (1.5 to 2.5 C/N ratios) increases removal rate (represented by reaction rate coefficient (k) of kinetic equation) as well as occurrence of free cells. It suggests that the operating condition at reactor B with 1.3 C/N ratio is more appropriate for long-term operation at a pilot-scale.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Tiago Costa ◽  
Neslihan Akdeniz

HighlightsDesign characteristics for animal mortality compost cover materials were tested.Compressive stress was applied to simulate the effects of the mortalities on cover materials.The highest permeability was measured for sawdust at 25% moisture content.A linear relationship was found between the volumetric flow rate and the power required to aerate the piles.Abstract. Composting is an aerobic process that relies on natural aeration to maintain proper oxygen levels. Air-filled porosity, mechanical strength, and permeability are among the essential parameters used to optimize the process. This study’s objective was to measure the physical parameters and airflow characteristics of three commonly used cover materials at four moisture levels, which could be used in designing actively aerated swine mortality composting systems. A laboratory-scale experiment was conducted to measure pressure drops across the cover materials as a function of the airflow rate and the material’s moisture content. Compressive stress was applied for 48 h to simulate the impact of swine mortalities on the cover materials. The power required to aerate each material was determined as a function of volumetric flow rate and moisture content. As expected, air-filled porosity and permeability decreased with increasing bulk density and moisture content. The highest average permeability values were measured at 25% moisture content and ranged from 66 × 10-4 to 70 × 10-4 mm2, from 161 × 10-4 to 209 × 10-4 mm2, and from 481 × 10-4 to 586 × 10-4 mm2 for woodchips, ground cornstalks, and sawdust, respectively. For the range of airflow rates tested in this study (0.0025 to 0.0050 m3 s-1 m-2), a linear relationship (R2 = 0.975) was found between the volumetric flow rate (m3 s-1) and the power required to aerate the compost pile (W per 100 kg of swine mortality). Keywords: Airflow, Darcy’s law, Livestock, Modeling, Permeability, Pressure drop.


2018 ◽  
Vol 203 ◽  
pp. 07005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdurrasheed Sa'id Abdurrasheed ◽  
Khamaruzaman Wan Yusof ◽  
Husna Bt Takaijudin ◽  
Aminuddin Ab. Ghani ◽  
Muhammad Mujahid Muhammad ◽  
...  

Subsurface drainage modules are important components of the Bio-ecological Drainage System (BIOECODS) which is a system designed to manage stormwater quantity and quality using constructed grass swales, subsurface modules, dry and wet ponds. BIOECODS is gradually gaining attention as one of the most ecologically sustainable solutions to the frequent flash floods in Malaysia and the rest of the world with a focus on the impact of the subsurface modules to the effectiveness of the system. Nearly two decades of post-construction research in the BIOECODS technology, there is need to review findings and areas of improvement in the system. Thus, this study highlighted the key advances and challenges in these subsurface drainage modules through an extensive review of related literature. From the study, more work is required on the hydraulic characteristics, flow attenuation and direct validation methods between field, laboratory, and numerical data. Also, there is concern over the loss of efficiency during the design life especially the infiltration capacity of the module, the state of the geotextile and hydronet over time. It is recommended for the sake of higher performance, that there should be an onsite methodology to assess the permeability, rate of clogging and condition of the geotextile as well as the hydronet over time.


Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zizhen Zhou ◽  
Tinglin Huang ◽  
Weijin Gong ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Yue Liu ◽  
...  

A field scale experiment was performed to explore the nitrogen removal performance of the water and surface sediment in a deep canyon-shaped drinking water reservoir by operating WLAs (water-lifting aerators). Nitrogen removal performance was achieved by increasing the densities and N-removal genes (nirK and nirS) of indigenous aerobic denitrifiers. After the operation of WLAs, the total nitrogen removal rate reached 29.1 ± 0.8% in the enhanced area. Ammonia and nitrate concentrations were reduced by 72.5 ± 2.5% and 40.5 ± 2.1%, respectively. No nitrite accumulation was observed. Biolog results showed improvement of carbon metabolism and carbon source utilization of microbes in the enhanced area. Miseq high-throughput sequencing indicated that the denitrifying bacteria percentage was also higher in the enhanced area than that in the control area. Microbial communities had changed between the enhanced and control areas. Thus, nitrogen removal through enhanced indigenous aerobic denitrifiers by the operation of WLAs was feasible and successful at the field scale.


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