Characterising Recycled Organic and Mineral Materials for Use as Filter Media in Biofiltration Systems

Characterising Recycled Organic and Mineral Materials for Use as Filter Media in Biofiltration Systems

Filter media (FM) sourced from recycled organic and mineral materials offer an effective and low cost means of treating urban stormwater. Using recycled materials rather than the increasingly scarce source of virgin materials (typically sandy loam soil) can ensure a sustainable and long-term economy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 5; p. 1074
Main Authors: Lucas, Steven A, CC Lee, Charles, Love, Eric
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-05-2019
Subjects:
Analysis
Australia
Biofilters
Biofiltration
Bulk density
Cation exchange
Cation exchanging
compost
Design
Design for recycling
Drinking water
Electric properties
Experiments
Filter media
Guidelines
Leaching
Loam soils
Mathematical models
Metals
Music
Natural resources
Nitrogen
nutrient leaching
Nutrient removal
Nutrients
Particle size
Particle size distribution
Pollutant removal
Pollutants
Raw materials
Recycled materials
Recycling
Sandy loam
Sandy soils
Size distribution
Stormwater
Stormwater management
stormwater quality
system modelling
Waste materials
Australia
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Description
Summary:Filter media (FM) sourced from recycled organic and mineral materials offer an effective and low cost means of treating urban stormwater. Using recycled materials rather than the increasingly scarce source of virgin materials (typically sandy loam soil) can ensure a sustainable and long-term economy and environment. This paper presents the results from the laboratory analysis and mathematical modelling to highlight the performance of recycled organic and mineral materials in removing nutrients and metals from stormwater. The analysis included the physical and chemical characterisation of particle size distribution, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), bulk density, effective cation exchange capacity, and pollutant removal performance. The design mixes (DM), comprising a combination of organic and mineral materials, were characterised and used to develop/derive the modelling design within the Model for Urban Stormwater Improvement Conceptualisation (MUSIC v6). Comparison is made to the Adoption Guidelines for Stormwater Biofiltration Systems—Summary Report which were based on the Facility for Advancing Water Biofiltration (FAWB) guidelines to assist in the development of biofiltration systems, including the planning, design, construction, and operation of those systems. An observed outcome from over two decades of biofiltration guideline development has been the exclusion of alternative biofilter materials due to claims of excessive leaching. Results from this study indicate that high nutrient and metal removal rates can be achieved over a range of hydraulic conductivities using design mixes of recycled organic and mineral materials that have a demonstrated equivalence to existing guideline specifications.
ISSN:2073-4441
2073-4441
DOI:10.3390/w11051074