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Using a Laboratory Column Experiment to Explore the Influence of an Antecedent Dry Period on the Nutrient Removal of a Bioretention Filter

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Abstract

Various factors, such as rainfall conditions, may influence nutrient removal by bioretention filters. The aim of this study was to evaluate how antecedent dry periods (ADP) affected the removal of nutrients by a laboratory-scale bioretention system. A bioretention filter system comprising columns with different media, treatment, and submerged zone combinations was set up. The treatments included 10% (v/v) water treatment residual to enhance the phosphorus (P) removal and 10% (v/v) zero-valent iron to enhance the nitrogen (N) removal. Semi-synthetic runoff was applied to explore how ADPs (from 1 to 10 days) affected the N and P removal. The denitrification efficiency was determined from the variations in the N concentrations in the submerged zone over 14 days. Without a submerged zone, the total nitrogen (TN) removal increased, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal decreased, and there was no clear trend for total phosphorus (TP), dissolved P, or particulate P as the duration of the ADP increased. When the bioretention filter had a submerged zone, the TN removal peaked at 82.64 ± 0.24% and 84.50 ± 0.28% for an ADP of 10 days. When zero-valent iron was added to a filter with a submerged zone, the denitrification improved significantly, and the TN removal reached 92.95 ± 1.50% and 92.16 ± 2.28% for an ADP of 5 days. The iron also significantly promoted the COD and TP removal efficiencies of the bioretention filter, but was not significantly related to the ADP. The TN and ammonia concentrations in a filter with a submerged zone decreased significantly in the first 3 days of the ADP, and then stabilized after 5 days. These results provide a reference for determining the effectiveness of a submerged zone in bioretention systems.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the research team members for their enthusiastic support. We thank Liwen Bianji (Edanz) (www.liwenbianji.cn) for editing the English text of a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51608026).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China

    Wei Zhang, Zimeng Zhuang, Juan Li, Huichao Sun & Wu Che

  2. Beijing Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Urban Sewage System Construction and Risk Control, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China

    Wei Zhang & Wu Che

  3. Beijing Energy Conservation & Sustainable Urban and Rural Development Provincial and Ministry Co-Construction Collaboration Innovation Center, Beijing, 100044, China

    Wei Zhang

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  1. Wei Zhang
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  2. Zimeng Zhuang
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Contributions

Wei Zhang proposed the research idea; Wei Zhang and Wu Che designed the experiment; Juan Li and Wei Zhang carried out the experiment; Wei Zhang, Juan Li, and Huichao Sun analyzed the data; Juan Li and Zimeng Zhuang wrote the manuscript draft; Wei Zhang, Zimeng Zhuang, and Huichao Sun revised the manuscript; Huichao Sun, Wu Che, and Zimeng Zhuang edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wei Zhang.

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Highlights

• Influence of ADP on the nutrient removal was explored by column experiment.

• As the ADP increased, the TN removal increased, but the COD removal decreased.

• The denitrification in submerged zone and TN removal were the highest with a long ADP.

• Zero-valent iron can improve the TN, COD, and TP removal in bioretention.

• TN concentrations in submerged zone provide a reference for bioretention designing.

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Zhang, W., Zhuang, Z., Li, J. et al. Using a Laboratory Column Experiment to Explore the Influence of an Antecedent Dry Period on the Nutrient Removal of a Bioretention Filter. Water Air Soil Pollut 235, 131 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-06935-7

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