Performance of enviss™ stormwater filters: results of a laboratory trial

Physical Experiment and Modeling of the Transport and Deposition of Polydisperse Particles in Stormwater: Effects of a Depth-Dependent Initial Filter Coefficient

The artificial recharge of stormwater is an effective approach for replenishing aquifer and reduce urban waterlogging, but prone to clogging by suspended particles (SP) that are highly heterogeneously sized. In this paper, the transport and deposition of SP in a sand column were investigated under a constant flow condition, for five stormwater concentrations. A depth-dependent initial filter coefficient is incorporated into the conventional filtration model. This modified model considers the heterogeneity of the particle population by lumping the capture of heterogeneous SP into a capture probability. The good agreement between the results of the modified model and the experimental results of measured outlet concentration and average specific deposit validated the modified model. The experiment data and the simulation results both indicate that the highly hyper-exponential retention profiles are caused by non-uniform deposition of heterogeneous SP; and, the conventional model was found to homogenize the spatial distribution of SP retention and overestimate retention of the porous medium. Local and overall permeability reductions were assessed by an empirical relationship and the Kozeny-Carman model, respectively. It is shown that consideration of polydisperse suspended particles is of primary importance. This study highlights the effects of polydisperse particles on SP deposition in a saturated porous medium.

Predicting bioretention pollutant removal efficiency with design features: A data-driven approach

The objective of this study is to synthesize previous research findings from bioretention experiments and identify design features that lead to the best performance of bioretention pollutant removal with a data-driven approach. A bioretention database was built from 79 bioretention publications, composed of 182 records of bioretention cells with their design features and the corresponding pollutant removal efficiency data. Non-parametric correlation analysis, multiple linear regression (MLR), and decision tree classifiers were applied to investigate the relationships between bioretention design features and pollutant removal efficiencies. Non-parametric statistics and MLR results indicated that bioretention surface area, media depth, the presence of an internal water storage (IWS) layer, soil composition, and vegetation cover are all significantly correlated with pollutant removal efficiencies. The impacts of design features are significantly different under different climate and inflow conditions. Decision tree classifiers showed that non-vegetated bioretention cells with sand filter media generally have higher than 80% total suspended solid (TSS) mass removal efficiencies; bioretention cells with minimum organic matter and greater than 0.58 m soil media depth tend to remove more than 51% of total nitrogen (TN); and vegetated bioretention cells with minimum organic matter remove more than 67% of total phosphorus (TP). The overall accuracy of decision tree classifiers in the test set is around 70% to predict TSS, TN, and TP mass removal efficiency classes. This study suggests that the data-driven approach provides insights into understanding the complex relationship between bioretention design features and pollutant removal performance.

Removal of E. coli from urban stormwater using antimicrobial-modified filter media

Stormwater filters featuring traditional sand filter media cannot reliably treat indicator bacteria for stormwater harvesting. In this work, copper-modified zeolite and granular activated carbon (GAC) were prepared through Cu(2+) impregnation and in situ Cu(OH)2 precipitation. Their antibacterial properties and stability in natural stormwater were studied in gravity-fed columns for 24 weeks, under typical stormwater operational conditions. 11 types of other filter media, prepared using zinc, iron, titanium and quaternary ammonium salts as antibacterial agents, were tested in parallel by way of comparison. Cu(2+)-immobilised zeolite and Cu(OH)2-coated GAC yielded an estimated 2-log reduction of E. coli within 40 min with the presence of other native microbial communities in natural stormwater. Even at high flow velocity (effective contact time of 4.5 min), both media demonstrated 0.8 log removal. Both media and Cu(2+)-treated GAC showed effective inactivation of the removed E. coli during dry periods. Copper leaching from Cu(OH)2-coated GAC was found to be below the NHMRC specified drinking water standard, while that from Cu(2+)-immobilised zeolite varied with the salinity in stormwater. These findings could provide useful information for further development of passive stormwater harvesting systems.

Adsorption of mixtures of nutrients and heavy metals in simulated urban stormwater by different filter materials

In recent years, several best management practices have been developed for the removal of different types of pollutants from stormwater runoff that lead to effective stormwater management. Filter materials that remove a wide range of contaminants have great potential for extensive use in filtration systems. In this study, four filter materials (calcite, zeolite, sand, and iron filings) were investigated for their adsorption and efficiency in the removal of nutrients and heavy metals when they exist individually versus when they co-exist. Laboratory batch experiments were conducted separately under individual and mixed contaminants conditions at different initial concentrations. Adsorption capacities varied under the individual and mixed contaminant conditions due to different removal mechanisms. Most filter materials showed lower removal efficiency under mixed contaminant conditions. In general, iron filings were found effective in the removal of nutrients and heavy metals simultaneously to the maximum levels. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were used to model the batch adsorption results and the former better fitted the experimental results. Overall, the results indicate that the filter materials used in this study have the potential to be effective media for the treatment of nutrients and heavy metals commonly found in urban stormwater runoff.