Effectiveness of Denitrifying Bioreactors on Water Pollutant Reduction from Agricultural Areas

Details

• Journal Title:
  Transactions of the ASABE
• Personal Author:
  Christianson, Laura E. ; Cooke, Richard A. ; Hay, Christopher H. ; Helmers, Matthew J. ; Feyereisen, Gary W. ; Ranaivoson, Andry Z. ; McMaine, John T. ; McDaniel, Rachel ; Rosen, Timothy R. ; Pluer, William T. ; Schipper, Louis A. ; Dougherty, Hannah ; Robinson, Rhianna J. ; Layden, Ian A. ; Irvine-Brown, Stuart M. ; Manca, Fabio ; Dhaese, Kris ; Nelissen, Victoria ; von Ahnen, Mathis
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NOAA General Documents
• Description:
  Denitrifying bioreactors enhance the natural process of denitrification in a practical way to treat nitrate-nitrogen (N) in a variety of N-laden water matrices. The design and construction of bioreactors for treatment of subsurface drainage in the U.S. is guided by USDA-NRCS Conservation Practice Standard 605. This review consolidates the state of the science for denitrifying bioreactors using case studies from across the globe with an emphasis on full-size bioreactor nitrate-N removal and cost-effectiveness. The focus is on bed-style bioreactors (including in-ditch modifications), although there is mention of denitrifying walls, which broaden the applicability of bioreactor technology in some areas. Subsurface drainage denitrifying bioreactors have been assessed as removing 20% to 40% of annual nitrate-N loss in the Midwest, and an evaluation across the peer-reviewed literature published over the past three years showed that bioreactors around the world have been generally consistent with that (N load reduction median: 46%; mean ±SD: 40% ±26%; n = 15). Reported N removal rates were on the order of 5.1 g N m-3 d-1 (median; mean ±SD: 7.2 ±9.6 g N m-3 d-1; n = 27). Subsurface drainage bioreactor installation costs have ranged from less than $5,000 to $27,000, with estimated cost efficiencies ranging from less than $2.50 kg-1 N year-1 to roughly $20 kg-1 N year-1 (although they can be as high as $48 kg-1 N year-1). A suggested monitoring setup is described primarily for the context of conservation practitioners and watershed groups for assessing annual nitrate-N load removal performance of subsurface drainage denitrifying bioreactors. Recommended minimum reporting measures for assessing and comparing annual N removal performance include: bioreactor dimensions and installation date; fill media size, porosity, and type; nitrate-N concentrations and water temperatures; bioreactor flow treatment details; basic drainage system and bioreactor design characteristics; and N removal rate and efficiency.
• Source:
  Transactions of the ASABE, 64(2), 641-658
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.14011
• ISSN:
  2151-0040
• Format:
  pdf
• Publisher:
  American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• License:
  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Rights Information:
  CC BY-NC-ND
• Compliance:
  Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:48174d50afb48a43636814d2969eaf8a0654f38cf09d1abb8784a6a37569a4ab4dabfdd4956218391bb2aaa5b1cb7a24a8f63489a4f0b9d8160a45953f52b886
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/69394/noaa_69394_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.10 MB ]