CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Ill. – Researchers at the University of Illinois have unveiled a promising new water treatment system designed to tackle pollution from agricultural runoff. The innovative system combines woodchip bioreactors with a two-step biochar water-treatment module, offering a cost-effective solution to the problem of excess nutrients entering waterways. While woodchip bioreactors are effective at reducing nitrogen runoff, they typically do not address phosphorus. This new integrated system, however, demonstrated significant reductions in both nitrate-nitrogen (58%) and ammonium-nitrogen (72%) loads, as well as dissolved phosphorus (3-92%) and total phosphorus (20-92%) in a one-year field trial. The researchers, led by Wei Zheng of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, noted that removal costs were approximately 0.30 per kilogram of nitrate-nitrogen and 3.90 per kilogram of dissolved reactive phosphorus annually, with potential for lower costs at larger sites. Furthermore, the phosphorus-loaded biochar byproduct could be repurposed as fertilizer, enhancing soil health. The study was published in the Journal of Water Process Engineering.
U of I Researchers Develop Innovative Water Treatment System to Combat Agricultural Pollution
