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Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Wastewater Treatment and Reuse".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2017) | Viewed by 40346

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Glenn Brown

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Guest Editor

Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 111 Agricultural Hall, Stillwater, OK 74078-6016, USA
Interests: low impact development; groundwater contaminant transport; flow in porous media; tomographic applications in geologic materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite submitted papers on the use of filter additives in stormwater filters. Runoff from urban, industrial and agricultural lands negatively impacts water quality in many watersheds. Stormwater filters, a wide class of structures that range from large bioretention cells to small filter boxes, are designed to intercept stormwater and purify the majority of the flow before releasing it to the receiving surface waters. While generally effective for particulates, filters have had mixed effectiveness for pollutant solutes. In some cases it has been shown that filters have actually increase the concentration of contaminants. Thus, there has been a steady interest in the use of filter media additives to increase the retention of pollutants. A somewhat bewildering range of materials have been proposed for filter additives including compost, iron filings, waste water residuals, zeolites, and biochar. However, while extensive, the prior research has seldom been transferred to recommendations for field applications. This Special Issue will collect papers that review the performance of filter additives with an emphasis on both the systematic laboratory comparison of different additives with a range of pollutants, and the documentation of the actual long-term performance of additives in field applications. This issue will provide both a broader understanding of additive performance and specific guidance for field construction.

Prof. Dr. Glenn Brown
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

low impact development
bioretention cells
stormwater quality
urban non-point pollution
filter additives

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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1037 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Batch Test Screening of Industrial Product/Byproduct Filter Materials for Agricultural Drainage Water Treatment

by Barry J. Allred

Water 2017, 9(10), 791; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9100791 - 14 Oct 2017

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4656

Abstract

Filter treatment may be a viable means for removing the nitrate (NO₃⁻), phosphate (PO₄³⁻), and pesticides discharged with agricultural drainage waters that cause adverse environmental impacts within the U.S. on local, regional, and national scales. Laboratory batch test screening for agricultural drainage water treatment potential was conducted on 58 industrial product/byproduct filter materials grouped into six categories: (1) high carbon content media; (2) high iron content media; (3) high aluminum content media; (4) surfactant modified clay/zeolite; (5) coal combustion residuals; and (6) spent foundry sands. Based on a percent contaminant removal criteria of 75% or greater, seven industrial products/byproducts were found to meet this standard for NO₃⁻ alone, 44 met this standard for PO₄³⁻, and 25 met this standard for the chlorinated triazine herbicide, atrazine. Using a 50% or greater contaminant removal criteria, five of the industrial product/byproduct filter materials exhibited potential for removing NO₃⁻, PO₄³⁻, and atrazine together; eight showed capability for combined NO₃⁻ and PO₄³⁻ removal; 21 showed capability for combined PO₄³⁻ and atrazine removal; and nine showed capability for combined NO₃⁻ and atrazine removal. The results of this study delineated some potential industrial product/byproduct filter materials for drainage water treatment; however, a complete feasibility evaluation for drainage water treatment of any of these filter materials will require much more extensive testing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal)

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797 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Phosphorus Retention by Fly Ash Amended Filter Media in Aged Bioretention Cells

by Saroj Kandel, Jason Vogel, Chad Penn and Glenn Brown

Water 2017, 9(10), 746; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9100746 - 29 Sep 2017

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 6284

Abstract

Bioretention cells (BRCs) have shown potential for storm water quantity and quality control. However, the phosphorus (P) removal in BRC has been variable due to differences of soil properties in filter media. The objectives of this research were to identify and evaluate P accumulation in filter media and to quantify effluent P reduction in BRC. Each cell has a sand and fly ash media designed to remove phosphorous. Filter media were collected in 2014 across the cell surface and to a depth of 0.6 m to quantify the P accumulation. The mean total P (T-P) concentration increased over the seven years of operation, but the changes were not statistically significant. The average Mehlich-3 P (M3-P) and water-soluble P (WS-P) concentrations in the media profiles showed higher P accumulation in the top 0.15 m. The average M3-P and WS-P concentrations between 0.15 m to 0.30 m, and 0.30 m to 0.60 m were variable on all four BRCs media. The media with 5% fly ash significantly retained M3-P and WS-P over the top 0.15 m. Stormwater influent and effluent samples from three of the BRCs monitored over one year showed reductions in both P concentration (68% to 75%) and P mass (76% to 93%). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal)

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3820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phosphate Removal from Agricultural Tile Drainage with Iron Enhanced Sand

by Andrew J. Erickson, John S. Gulliver and Peter T. Weiss

Water 2017, 9(9), 672; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9090672 - 06 Sep 2017

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6082

Abstract

Can iron enhanced sand filtration capture total phosphorus and soluble phosphorus (phosphate) from agricultural tile drainage? A monitoring study measured the total phosphorus and phosphate capture performance of an iron enhanced sand filter (IESF) installed to treat agricultural tile drainage in Wright County, MT, USA. Overall, for natural rainfall-induced tile drainage events monitored between June and November 2015 and again in 2016, the IESF captured 66% ± 7% (α = 0.05, n = 21) of the influent total phosphorus mass and 64% ± 8% (α = 0.05, n = 31) of the influent phosphate mass. Removal of total phosphorus and phosphate was approximately uniform for large and small rainfall-induced tile drainage events and varied from 42% to 95% for total phosphorus and 9% to 87% for phosphate. The IESF treated 290 m of treated depth since installation, and results indicate that performance is similar or better than constructed wetlands or other IESFs, though not as good as laboratory experiments of IESFs. Routine and non-routine maintenance was performed throughout the project to ensure adequate phosphorus capture and flow rate through the IESF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal)

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373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Field Studies of Microbial Removal from Stormwater by Bioretention Cells with Fly-Ash Amendment

by Sheila Youngblood, Jason Vogel, Glenn Brown, Daniel Storm, Alex McLemore and Saroj Kandel

Water 2017, 9(7), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9070526 - 15 Jul 2017

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5293

Abstract

Microbial pollution in stormwater is a concern in urban areas across the U.S. and is a leading cause of water-quality impairment in the United States. This issue may be addressed through the use of best management practices (BMPs) and target limits for pathogenic indicator species. Bioretention is a commonly used low impact development strategy that addresses this growing pollution problem at the source. Bioretention removal efficiencies have been well studied when considering nutrients and heavy metals, but field-scale treatment data are limited for microbial indicators. The primary objective of this study was to quantify microbial removal by installed bioretention cells with fly-ash amended soils. Three bioretention cells in Grove, Oklahoma were monitored over one and a half years and the removal microbial efficiency was quantified. Overall, removal rates for E. coli, enterococci, and coliphage were highly variable, with mean and standard deviations for removals for each site respectively: E. coli 87%, 35%, and 43%; enterococci 97%, 95%, and 80%; and coliphage 38%, 75%, and 32%. The site with negative removal efficiency appears to have some groundwater intrusion during storm events. Based on this relatively limited data set, these fly-ash amended bioretention cells performed 49% better than those with a sand-only filter media layer currently reported in the literature. Based on this initial field study, it appears that fly-ash amended bioretention cells may be a viable option for enhanced microbial removal from stormwater runoff. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal)

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Graphical abstract

208 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nutrient Leaching When Soil Is Part of Plant Growth Media

by Sally D. Logsdon

Water 2017, 9(7), 501; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9070501 - 11 Jul 2017

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3553

Abstract

Soils can serve as sorbents for phosphorus (P), negating the need for artificial sorbents. The purpose of this study was to compare soils with different properties for their effect on nutrient levels in effluent. Four soils were mixed with sand and packed into columns 0.5 m long, with or without compost on the surface. Infiltration and effluent concentrations were measured before and after growing plants [Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.) and bluegrama grasses (Bouteloua gracilis H.B.K.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)]. The growth media with compost at the surface had higher nutrient levels than the media without the compost, but the final effluent nitrate concentrations post-harvest were significantly lower for columns with the compost blanket (59 vs. 86 mg L⁻¹). All of the nitrate concentrations were high (many >100 mg L⁻¹) due to mineralization and nitrogen fixation. The final effluent P concentrations before planting were significantly higher in the soil with the most sand (0.71 mg L⁻¹), and after harvest in the mixture that contained the high soil P levels (0.58 mg L⁻¹). Some soils (high in aluminum or calcium) were adequate sorbents for P without additions of other sorbents, but soils often generated too much nitrate in effluent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal)

1089 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pilot Scale Testing of Adsorbent Amended Filters under High Hydraulic Loads for Highway Runoff in Cold Climates

by Carlos Monrabal-Martinez, Aamir Ilyas and Tone M. Muthanna

Water 2017, 9(3), 230; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9030230 - 22 Mar 2017

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5314

Abstract

This paper presents an estimation of the service life of three filters composed of sand and three alternative adsorbents for stormwater treatment according to Norwegian water quality standards for receiving surface waters. The study conducted pilot scale column tests on three adsorbent amended filters for treatment of highway runoff in cold climates under high hydraulic loads. The objectives were to evaluate the effect of high hydraulic loads and the application of deicing salts on the performance of these filters. From previous theoretical and laboratory analysis granulated activated charcoal, pine bark, and granulated olivine were chosen as alternative adsorbent materials for the present test. Adsorption performance of the filters was evaluated vis-à-vis four commonly found hazardous metals (Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn) in stormwater. The results showed that the filters were able to pass water at high inflow rates while achieving high removal. Among the filters, the filters amended with olivine or pine bark provided the best performance both in short and long-term tests. The addition of NaCl (1 g/L) did not show any adverse impact on the desorption of already adsorbed metals, except for Ni removal by the charcoal amended filter, which was negatively impacted by the salt addition. The service life of the filters was found to be limited by zinc and copper, due to high concentrations observed in local urban runoff, combined with moderate affinity with the adsorbents. It was concluded that both the olivine and the pine bark amended filter should be tested in full-scale conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal)

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Review

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1088 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Phosphorus Removal Structures: How to Assess and Compare Their Performance

by Chad Penn, Isis Chagas, Aleksandar Klimeski and Gry Lyngsie

Water 2017, 9(8), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9080583 - 10 Aug 2017

Cited by 69 | Viewed by 8550

Abstract

Controlling dissolved phosphorus (P) losses to surface waters is challenging as most conservation practices are only effective at preventing particulate P losses. As a result, P removal structures were developed to filter dissolved P from drainage water before reaching a water body. While many P removal structures with different P sorption materials (PSMs) have been constructed over the past two decades, there remains a need to evaluate their performances and compare on a normalized basis. The purpose of this review was to compile performance data of pilot and field-scale P removal structures and present techniques for normalization and comparison. Over 40 studies were normalized by expressing cumulative P removal as a function of cumulative P loading to the contained PSM. Results were further analyzed as a function of retention time (RT), inflow P concentration, and type of PSM. Structures treating wastewater were generally more efficient than non-point drainage water due to higher RT and inflow P concentrations. For Ca-rich PSMs, including slag, increased RT allowed for greater P removal. Among structures with low RT and inflow P concentrations common to non-point drainage, Fe-based materials had an overall higher cumulative removal efficiency compared to non-slag and slag materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additives in Stormwater Filters for Enhanced Pollutant Removal)

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