Denitrifying Bioreactors—An Approach for Reducing Nitrate Loads
G Model ECOENG-1647; No. of Pages 12 ARTICLE IN PRESS Ecological Engineering xxx (2010) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ecological Engineering journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecoleng Review Denitrifying bioreactors—An approach for reducing nitrate loads to receiving waters Louis A. Schipper a,∗, Will D. Robertson b, Arthur J. Gold c, Dan B. Jaynes d, Stewart C. Cameron e a Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand b Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada c Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA d National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, USDA-ARS, 2110 University Blvd, Ames, IA 50011-3120, USA e GNS Science, Private Bag 2000, Taupo, New Zealand article info abstract Article history: Low-cost and simple technologies are needed to reduce watershed export of excess nitrogen to sensitive Received 12 November 2009 aquatic ecosystems. Denitrifying bioreactors are an approach where solid carbon substrates are added Received in revised form 9 March 2010 into the flow path of contaminated water. These carbon (C) substrates (often fragmented wood-products) Accepted 3 April 2010 act as a C and energy source to support denitrification; the conversion of nitrate (NO −) to nitrogen gases. Available online xxx 3 Here, we summarize the different designs of denitrifying bioreactors that use a solid C substrate, their hydrological connections, effectiveness, and factors that limit their performance. The main denitrifying Keywords: bioreactors are: denitrification walls (intercepting shallow groundwater), denitrifying beds (intercepting Denitrification concentrated discharges) and denitrifying layers (intercepting soil leachate).
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