Dynamics of Nitrate-Nitrogen Removal in Experimental Stormwater Biofilters under Intermittent Wetting and Drying
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 3
Abstract
High concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen degrade the quality of aquatic environments. The primary mechanism by which nitrate-nitrogen is removed (denitrification) requires anoxic conditions and electron donors. While removal of total and ammonium-nitrogen is often high in stormwater biofilters, poor removal or even the release of nitrate-nitrogen in the outflow has often been observed. Five Perspex biofilter columns (94 mm internal diameter) were fabricated with a filter layer that contained 8% organic material. Columns were operated at and fed with simulated stormwater with different antecedent dry days (ADDs) and concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen. Samples were collected from the outflow at different time intervals between 2 and 150 min and were tested for nitrate-nitrogen. The removal of nitrate-nitrogen varied during an event from a high removal percentage (60–90%) in the initial outflow that gradually decreased in the first 30 min and settled at 0–15% removal thereafter. This remained consistent during all simulated events independent of the number of ADDs or inflow concentrations. ADDs and previous event feed concentrations affected the outflow nitrate-nitrogen concentration in the first 30 min of the current event. Therefore, from this study it is concluded that denitrification within stormwater biofilters occurs mainly during drying periods rather than wetting periods.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank River Sands Pty Ltd. for supplying the bioretention basin material for this study.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 3 • March 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 3, 2014
Accepted: Aug 27, 2015
Published online: Dec 17, 2015
Published in print: Mar 1, 2016
Discussion open until: May 17, 2016
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