Strengths and limitations of bioretention sorbent amendments to simultaneously remove metals, PAHs, and nutrients from urban stormwater runoff
type: CreativeWork
description: Bioretention is increasingly being employed as a stormwater management tool in urban areas, with the intent of using infiltration to address both water quantity and quality concerns. However, bioretention soil media (BSM) has limited removal capacity for dissolved contaminants; hence, amendments may be justified to improve performance. In this study, the potential of five low-cost sorbents as BSM amendments – waste tire crumb rubber (WTCR), coconut coir fiber (CCF), blast furnace slag (BFS), biochar (BC) and iron coated biochar (FeBC) – were investigated for removing several classes of contaminants from simulated stormwater (SSW). The contaminated SSW contained a mixture of metals (Cr, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn), nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate) and PAHs (pyrene (PYR), phenanthrene (PHE), acenaphthylene (ACY) and naphthalene (NAP)). First, batch studies were used to investigate the sorption capacities, kinetics, and the effects of different water quality parameters on sorbents performance. Then, a long-term vegetated column study was conducted to investigate the performance of three amendments (CCF, WTCR, and BFS) under intermittent runoff condition considering different runoff intensities and antecedent dry periods (ADP). The long-term effects of amendments on plant health and infiltration rate of all media were also investigated. Finally, HYDRUS-1D and a cost model were used to investigate longevity and cost-effectiveness of all BSM. Batch test results revealed that among all sorbents, BC and FeBC were only effective for removing PAHs; CFF had high sorption capacity for both metals and PAHs; BFS was very effective for metals; and WTCR was effective for some of metals and PAHs. Metal removal by BFS occurred primarily via precipitation was due to the BFS mineral structure and high/alkaline pH. The effectiveness of CCF for removing both metals and PAHs was due to its lignocellulose structure and diverse functional groups. CCF could remove metals through sever…
abstract: Bioretention is increasingly being employed as a stormwater management tool in urban areas, with the intent of using infiltration to address both water quantity and quality concerns. However, bioretention soil media (BSM) has limited removal capacity for dissolved contaminants; hence, amendments may be justified to improve performance. In this study, the potential of five low-cost sorbents as BSM amendments – waste tire crumb rubber (WTCR), coconut coir fiber (CCF), blast furnace slag (BFS), biochar (BC) and iron coated biochar (FeBC) – were investigated for removing several classes of contaminants from simulated stormwater (SSW). The contaminated SSW contained a mixture of metals (Cr, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn), nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate) and PAHs (pyrene (PYR), phenanthrene (PHE), acenaphthylene (ACY) and naphthalene (NAP)). First, batch studies were used to investigate the sorption capacities, kinetics, and the effects of different water quality parameters on sorbents performance. Then, a long-term vegetated column study was conducted to investigate the performance of three amendments (CCF, WTCR, and BFS) under intermittent runoff condition considering different runoff intensities and antecedent dry periods (ADP). The long-term effects of amendments on plant health and infiltration rate of all media were also investigated. Finally, HYDRUS-1D and a cost model were used to investigate longevity and cost-effectiveness of all BSM. Batch test results revealed that among all sorbents, BC and FeBC were only effective for removing PAHs; CFF had high sorption capacity for both metals and PAHs; BFS was very effective for metals; and WTCR was effective for some of metals and PAHs. Metal removal by BFS occurred primarily via precipitation was due to the BFS mineral structure and high/alkaline pH. The effectiveness of CCF for removing both metals and PAHs was due to its lignocellulose structure and diverse functional groups. CCF could remove metals through sever…
author: Esfandiar, Narges
language: eng
keywords: Environmental engineering, Civil engineering, Bioretention systems, Contaminant transport modeling, Contaminants adsorption, Life cycle cost analysis, Stormwater management, Water quality
license: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
date published: 2022
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:22:02Z
provider: Temple University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Temple University. Libraries

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12613/8061