Grantee Research Project Results
2024 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 , 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, 2023 through August 31,2024
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:
Agricultural tile drainage is a widely used water management practice in the Midwestern U.S. However, these artificial drainage systems contribute to substantial nutrient losses from agricultural fields into surrounding watersheds, jeopardizing water quality and triggering HABs. This project seeks to address these challenges by developing an innovative B2 nutrient treatment system, which integrates woodchip bioreactors to remove NO3-N and designer biochars to capture dissolved P, total TP, and NH4-N from drainage water. The nutrient-laden biochars are then repurposed as slow-release fertilizers, enabling nutrient recovery and promoting a circular nutrient system in agriculture. During this reporting period, a field demonstration was conducted on a commercial agricultural farm to evaluate the efficiency of a scaled-up B2 treatment system in nutrient removal and to assess its potential for broader adoption in agricultural practices. Two B2 nutrient treatment systems were installed, each comprising a woodchip denitrifying bioreactor followed by a biochar-sorption channel. These systems were monitored from January to August 2024 as drainage water flowed sequentially through the bioreactors and biocharsorption channels. Water samples were collected before and after treatment, and concentrations of dissolved P, total P, NO3-N, and NH4-N were analyzed. The field demonstration revealed that the B2 system effectively reduced NO3-N losses with removal efficiencies of 66.5% and 55.1% in the two parallel systems, respectively. Additionally, the system achieved an average 18% reduction in NH4-N losses. However, levels of dissolved P and total P increased after passing through the bioreactors, likely due to P release from the fresh woodchips. Encouragingly, the biochar-sorption channels efficiently captured dissolved P and total P, mitigating the P release from the bioreactors. Overall, the integration of bioreactors and biochar in the B2 system provides a holistic approach to removing both N and P nutrients from drainage water, making it a promising strategy for reducing excess nutrient loads to watersheds from agricultural fields. Furthermore, a greenhouse study demonstrated that combining spent biochar with N fertilizer improved plant growth, suggesting that the use of spent biochar could reduce nitrogen fertilizer needs while maintaining crop yields.
Future Activities:
➢ Evaluate the B2 Nutrient Treatment System in a Scale-up Commercial Field: Year Two
➢ Continue Extension/Outreach Activities.
➢ Provide a Final Report.
Journal Articles on this Report : 3 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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Zhou H, Timalsina H, Tang S, Circenis S, Kandume J, Cooke R, Si B, Bhattarai R, Zheng W. Simultaneous removal of nutrients and pharmaceuticals and personal care products using two-stage woodchip bioreactor-biochar treatment systems. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2024;480:135882. |
R840088 (2024) |
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Zhou H, Zheng W, Cooke R, Oladeji O, Tian G, Bhattarai R. Sorption materials for phosphorus reduction in drained agricultural fields:Gaps between the results from laboratory evaluation and field application. Ecological Engineering 2024;207:107351. |
R840088 (2024) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Woodchip bioreactor, designer biochar; nutrients, capture, recover, tile drainage, circular nutrient systemRelevant Websites:
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.