Grantee Research Project Results
2023 Progress Report: Development of a Novel Bioreactor and Biochar-Sorption-Channel (B2) Treatment System to Capture and Recover Nutrients from Tile Drainage
EPA Grant Number: R840088Title: Development of a Novel Bioreactor and Biochar-Sorption-Channel (B2) Treatment System to Capture and Recover Nutrients from Tile Drainage
Investigators: Zheng, Wei , Cooke, Richard , Guzman, Jorge , Oladeji, Olawale , Rajagopalan, Nandaksihore
Current Investigators: Zheng, Wei , Cooke, Richard , Guzman, Jorge , Sharma, Brajendra , Oladeji, Olawale
Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
EPA Project Officer: Ludwig-Monty, Sarah
Project Period: September 1, 2020 through August 31, 2023 (Extended to August 31, 2025)
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2022 through August 31,2023
Project Amount: $999,377
RFA: Approaches to Reduce Nutrient Loadings for Harmful Algal Blooms Management (2020) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water , Harmful Algal Blooms , Water Quality , Clean Water
Objective:
The goal of this project is to develop and scale up an innovative bioreactor and biochar-sorption-channel (B2) treatment system to effectively capture nutrients from subsurface drainage water, recycle nutrient-captured biochars as a slow-release fertilizer, and keep nutrients in the closed agricultural loop. The long-term goal of this project is to mitigate the excess nutrient loads to watersheds from agricultural fields, improve water quality, and thereby diminish the occurrence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and increase agricultural sustainability. To achieve this goal, the following special objectives will be addressed:
1. Create designer biochars by pyrolysis of biomass pretreated with lime sludge and optimize the production conditions to generate a most efficient and cost-effective designer biochar to capture dissolved phosphorus (P) and ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N).
2. Develop an innovative B2 nutrient treatment system by integrating refillable biochar-sorption-channels with woodchip bioreactors.
3. Demonstrate and scale up the B2 nutrient treatment system to remove nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and capture dissolved P, total P, and NH4-N from tile drainage water by conducting field trials.
4. Evaluate the developed B2 nutrient treatment system by conducting a scale-up field study.
5. Recover nutrients by applying nutrient-captured biochars into agricultural fields as a slow-release fertilizer to improve soil quality and crop yields.
Progress Summary:
Subsurface tile drainage is a widely adopted water management practice in the Midwestern U.S. However, these tile drainage systems can facilitate excess nutrient losses from agricultural fields to surrounding watersheds. Excess nutrients in watersheds could jeopardize water quality and trigger HABs. This project aims to develop an innovative B2 combined treatment system by using woodchip bioreactors to remove NO3-N and designer biochars to capture dissolved P, total P, and NH4-N from drainage water. The nutrient-captured biochars will be applied in agricultural fields as a slow-release fertilizer to recover nutrients and thus keep them in the circular nutrient system. During this reporting period, we have manufactured sufficient designer biochar pellets, which could efficiently capture dissolved P from contaminated water. A laboratory experiment was conducted to characterize the hydraulic retention times (HRTs) for P removal by the designer biochar pellets using a flow-through box system. To maintain excellent dissolved P removal rates (≥ 80%), the HRT should not be less than 2 mins for these designer biochar pellets to capture dissolved P at its environmental concentration levels. This information is very useful to design biochar pellets and build a scale-up B2 nutrient treatment system in the agrictural fields. A pilot-scale experiment has been conducted to evaluate two types of configurations of B2 treatment systems, including 1) woodchip bioreactor with a downstream biochar channel (DBC); and 2) woodchip bioreactor with an upstream biochar channel (UBC). This pilot-scale study showed that DBS is better than UBS because the former can not only effectively remove both NO3-N and dissolved P but reduce the by-product (e.g., DOC) contamination derived from the woodchip bioreactor. It further justifies the field-scale B2 design: biochar-sorption-channels should follow woodchip bioreactors. According to the previous laboratory and field trial studies, two B2 nutrient treatment systems have been established in a commercial agricultural farm. Water samples will be collected to evaluate this nutrient treatment technique in the following drainage season. In addition, a greenhouse experiment has also been conducted to investigate the effect of biochar soil application on radish yields. We observed that the addition of both fresh biochar and spent biochar into soils did not improve plant growth, suggesting biochar application into fertile soils may not improve agronomic yields. By contrast, the combined application of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer in fertile soils could favor radish root development, resulting in a positive effect on crop yields. A preliminary cost benefit analysis indicates that the B2 nutrient treatment systems for drainage water is comparable to the average cost for wastewater treatment.
Future Activities:
- Evaluating the B2 Nutrient Treatment System in a Scale-up Commercial Field
- Recycling Nutrient-Captured Biochar as a Slow-Released Fertilizer
- Continuing Extension/Outreach Activities including press releases, workshops, publication, and field days
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 7 publications | 6 publications in selected types | All 6 journal articles |
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Zhou H, Timalsina H, Tang S, Circenis S, Kandume J, Cooke R, Si B, Bhattarai R, Zheng W. Exploring the engineering-scale potential of designer biochar pellets for phosphorus loss reduction from tile-drained agroecosystems. WATER RESEARCH 2024;267. |
R840088 (2023) R840088 (2024) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Woodchip bioreactor, designer biochar; nutrients, capture, recover, tile drainage, circular nutrient systemRelevant Websites:
Circular Nutrient System for Circular Bioeconomy Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.