Nigel Pickering, Ph.D., PE (Minnesota) will present “Materials for Maximizing Phosphorus Removal from Stormwater ” at the Minnesota Water Resources Conference at the Saint Paul RiverCentre at 1:35 p.m. CDT on October 19, 2022.

Nigel’s co-presenter is Md. Arafat Ali, University of Buffalo

Nigel Pickering is a Senior Water Resources Engineer based in Minnesota with more than 30 years of experience focused on watershed monitoring and modeling, water resources assessment and planning, and stormwater design and modeling for clients in the non-profit, private, and public sectors.

The Minnesota Water Resources Conference, sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Water Resources Center and the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, is an opportunity to address:

• Lessons learned from the implementation of engineering projects
• Best practices discovered in the design and application of water resource management techniques
• Implications of water policy decisions
• Research into current and emerging issues

The University of Minnesota’s College of Continuing and Professional Studies inspires and serves an expanding population of learners in all stages of life.

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is the limiting nutrient in most freshwater ecosystems. Although P is an essential nutrient for plant life, excessive loading to receiving surface waters can result in algal blooms, toxic algae, large extents of macrophytes, and eventual eutrophication. Many stormwater management controls can remove particulate P easily through sedimentation and filtration processes, but dissolved P is much harder to remove.
This laboratory study systematically investigated a large spectrum of materials to improve dissolved P removal from biofiltration and bioswale systems. The project evaluated dissolved P removal efficiency of 40 different adsorptive materials through jar tests and adsorption isotherm kinetics, column tests that emulate biofiltration systems, and channel tests to emulate bioswales. The media evaluated in this study included metal-based materials, shell-based products, wood-based products including biochar, peat and compost materials, and proprietary products.
The 40 materials evaluated using jar tests yielded 12 candidates for further testing using complete adsorption isotherms. Seven of these 12 materials were tested extensively in the columns, and the 3 best materials from that study were chosen for the channel study. This presentation will show results based on completed laboratory experiments on the phosphorus adsorption, column studies, and bioswales experiments. The most suitable materials for P removal will be highlighted and future research directions suggested.

More Information

About the event: Minnesota Water Resources Conference | U of M – CCAPS (umn.edu)
About University of Minnesota’s Water Resources Center: About Us | Water Resources Center (umn.edu)
For consultation regarding Phosphorus Removal from Stormwater, contact Nigel Pickering at NPickering@Geosyntec.com.
Learn more about Nigel Pickering: Nigel Pickering (geosyntec.com)