Biochar Addition to Stormwater Treatment Media for Enhanced Removal of Nitrogen

Abstract:

Urban stormwater management systems, such as bioretention facilities, require substantial land area and are often ineffective in removing nitrogen. This project seeks to improve nitrogen removal in bioretention media by modifying the hydraulic and treatment characteristics of the infiltration medium with biochar addition. A commercial wood biochar pyrolyzed from Southern Yellow Pine at 500°C was used. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that biochar addition to a typical bioretention medium (soil-mix: 4% saw dust, 88% sand, 8% clay) increased ammonium sorption at typical stormwater concentrations (2 mg/L) by a factor of 6, total porosity by 16.6%, and water retention at most matric potentials. The effect of the biochar-amended medium on nitrate removal was evaluated in pilot-scale experiments. Side-by-side experimental cells (91 cm dia., 1.2 m deep) were constructed to treat stormwater runoff from a parking lot. The control cell contained 100% soil mix while the biochar cell contained 4% biochar and 96% soil-mix by mass. Treatment media were 76.2 cm in depth and overlain by 5.1 cm of wood mulch in both cells, with a water table maintained at the bottom of the treatment zones. Cells were instrumented with TDR moisture sensors, pressure transducers, and redox and temperature sensors.

Two pilot-scale experiments were conducted that included a bromide tracer and nitrate with a hydraulic loading of 5.5cm/h for 24 h in early spring and 36 h in summer. Effluent was continuously sampled for nitrogen compounds during these tests. Tracer tests and TDR measurements showed that biochar increased the average volumetric water content of the vadose zone by 14.7% and the mean residence time by 12.6%. For the spring field test at 14°C, nitrate in the control cell effluent increased by 6.1% but decreased by 43.5% for the biochar cell. For the summer field test at 22°C, 30.6% and 84.7% of influent nitrate was removed in the control and biochar cells, respectively. In the summer field test, total nitrogen in the influent was decreased by a factor of 5 in the biochar cell effluent and was primarily nitrate and ammonium. Nitrate removal in the medium amended with biochar was enhanced through improved redox conditions (lower gas saturations), longer hydraulic retention time, and increased microbial activity.