Simultaneous removal of PPCPs & nutrient using a two-stage denitrifying bioreactor/biochar system

Full Title: Simultaneous removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products and nutrient using a two-stage denitrifying bioreactor - biochar adsorption system

Presented on April 25, 2024, at the 2024 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference by Hongxu Zhou - Ph.D Student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Abstract: The presence of nutrients and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment contributes to the degradation of water resources. This study explored the feasibility of a low-cost treatment system for simultaneous removal of nutrients and PPCPs from stormwater. We designed a series of denitrifying (woodchip) bioreactors equipped with secondary biochar adsorption systems and investigated the synergistic benefits of these treatment systems to remove excess nutrients and PPCP contaminants. We examine the effects of hydraulic retention times (HRTs: 1h, 12h, and 24h), biochar sizes (less than 1cm vs 2~3 cm), and continuous challenging operation (45 days) to get a better understanding of the performance of the systems. We also investigated the potential effects of PPCPs on nutrient removal efficiency in these systems. Finally, life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) were conducted to understand the environmental impact and economic feasibility of our proposed work.

link to slides: https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122958