Effect of Biochar Amendment in Woodchip Denitrifying Bioreactors for Nitrate and Phosphate Removal in Tile Drainage Flow
Department of Water Engineering, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaičio Str. 58, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania
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Academic Editors: Gurpal S. Toor and Zhi Li
Water 2021, 13(20), 2883; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13202883
Received: 14 September 2021
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Revised: 9 October 2021
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Accepted: 11 October 2021
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Published: 14 October 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Surface- and Ground-Water: Sources, Mechanisms, Processes, and Pathways)
Biochar has received increased attention in environmental applications in recent years. Therefore, three pilot-scale denitrifying bioreactors, one filled with woodchips only and the other two enriched with 10% and 20% by volume of biochar from deciduous wood, were tested under field conditions for the removal of nitrate (NO3-N) and phosphate (PO4-P) from tile drainage water in Lithuania over a 3-year period. The experiment showed the possibility to improve NO3-N removal by incorporating 20% biochar into woodchips. Compared to the woodchips only and woodchips amended with 10% biochar, the NO3-N removal effect was particularly higher at temperatures below 10.0 °C. The results also revealed that woodchips alone can be a suitable medium for PO4-P removal, while the amendment of biochar to woodchips (regardless of 10% or 20%) can lead to large releases of PO4-P and other elements. Due to the potential adverse effects, the use of biochar in woodchip bioreactors has proven to be very limited and complicated. The experiment highlighted the need to determine the retention capacity of biochar for relevant substances depending on the feedstock and its physical and chemical properties before using it in denitrifying bioreactors.
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Keywords:
denitrifying bioreactor; biochar; nitrate; phosphate; tile drainage
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MDPI and ACS Style
Vismontienė, R.; Povilaitis, A. Effect of Biochar Amendment in Woodchip Denitrifying Bioreactors for Nitrate and Phosphate Removal in Tile Drainage Flow. Water 2021, 13, 2883. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13202883
AMA Style
Vismontienė R, Povilaitis A. Effect of Biochar Amendment in Woodchip Denitrifying Bioreactors for Nitrate and Phosphate Removal in Tile Drainage Flow. Water. 2021; 13(20):2883. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13202883
Chicago/Turabian StyleVismontienė, Rasa, and Arvydas Povilaitis. 2021. "Effect of Biochar Amendment in Woodchip Denitrifying Bioreactors for Nitrate and Phosphate Removal in Tile Drainage Flow" Water 13, no. 20: 2883. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13202883
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