Comparison of Different Wood Types for Use as a Porous Substrate in Denitrifying Woodchip Bioreactors

Sammanfattning: Explosives used in the mining industry release nitrate into the environment, causing concerns for the water quality in local river-systems. One way of reducing the nitrate loading into the environment is through a woodchip bioreactor. Water is passed through the bioreactor, where denitrifying microbial communities use the organic carbon from the substrate for energy, together with the nitrate. The efficiency of the denitrification process depends on various factors, including the type of carbon source selected and the temperature. To determine a suitable organic substrate to use in colder environments, column experiments were conducted, comparing different woodchip types. Three columns contained woodchips from pine, spruce and birch. In the fourth column, barley wheat was mixed with pine woodchips. An influent solution was pumped into the columns contained 50 mg/L nitrate-nitrogen. The effluent water was sampled and analysed twice per week for nitrate, nitrite and ammonium concentrations. The pH and alkalinity were analysed weekly to determine that denitrification was taking place. Three column conditions were tested. During the initial period, the columns were kept in 21 °C with a hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 6.3 days. In the following period, the columns were refrigerated at a temperature of 5°C. During the final period, the HRT was lowered to 3.2 days. After a 106-day runtime, it could be concluded that pine woodchips were the most effective substrate for denitrification in 5 °C temperature. The column with pine woodchips removed nitrate efficiently and produced the least amount of by-products and released DOC with a short HRT. The pine woodchips and barley straw column had high nitrite accumulation, and the nitrate removal rate in the birch and spruce woodchip columns was low in 5 °C conditions.