This work addresses the prevention of sediment recontamination through the design of biochar-amended rapid-flow engineered media filters, an improved stormwater control measure (SCM), to treat stormwater runoff at Department of Defense facilities and more broadly in urban settings. Long-term laboratory experiments assessed the ability of filters amended with biochar and other engineered media to remove metal and organic contaminants from stormwater runoff at flow rates commonly used for infiltrating CSMs. Down-flow gravity-driven columns were used to assess media performance with respect to contaminant removal and hydraulic conductivity at flow rates of 20 cm/hr, 40 cm/hr, and 60 cm/hr. Engineered media investigated were high-temperature gasification biochar, regenerated activated carbon, and zeolite. Synthetic stormwater was generated using stormwater catchment-basin material from a Navy site and augmented with naturally-sourced dissolved organic carbon and a suite of contaminants including six metals, twenty-one hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic compounds, and perfluorochemicals from an aqueous firefighting foam. A 1-d intraparticle diffusion-limited sorption model was used to fit experimental data and predict filter lifetime in a field application. Additionally, performance curves for biochar-amended filter performance as a function of filter design parameters and contact time are generated as a tool for stormwater practitioners. This presentation will explain the experimental design, predictive modeling, and general findings for stormwater treatment application of biochar.

Biochar-amended rapid-flow engineered media filters for removal of organic contaminants in stormwater runoff

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.