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ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #224911

Title: FILTRATION OF AGRICULTURAL NON-POINT SOURCE PHOSPHORUS POLLUTION WITH INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS

Author
item Feyereisen, Gary
item Bryant, Ray
item PENN, CHAD - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
item ALLEN, A - UNIV MD EASTERN SHORE

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/8/2008
Publication Date: 3/31/2008
Citation: Feyereisen, G.W., Bryant, R.B., Penn, C., Allen, A.L. 2008. Filtration of agricultural non-point source phosphorus pollution with industrial materials. Presented at the 2008 Beneeficial Use of Industrial Materials Summit, Denver, CO, March 31-April 2, 2008. Meeting Abstract.

Interpretive Summary: An interpretive summary is not required.

Technical Abstract: Loss of phosphorus (P) from agricultural lands to water bodies is an environmental concern. Ditch drainage from lands with heavy poultry manure application on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay provides a pathway to deliver dissolved P to the bay. Best management practices designed to reduce particulate P losses or nitrogen losses are ineffective in reducing dissolved P losses. The objectives of this study are to identify materials that will remove phosphorus from agricultural runoff and to test these materials in filter configurations engineered for drainage ditches. We tested several industrial by-product materials in the laboratory for physical properties, mechanisms of P removal, kinetics, and potential contaminants. Two filtration systems using two different materials and designs were installed on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. After a few months in the field, the first system, a metal housing containing an acid mine drainage residual, failed to conduct enough drainage effluent to successfully reduce dissolved P levels. The second system consists of a bed of flue gas desulphurization gypsum laid over a series of perforated pipes in the bottom of a 1.5 m deep drainage ditch. The filtration system reduced dissolved P by 67% for runoff events in 2007. The system offers potential as a low-cost method to remove dissolved P from ditch drainage systems. Future planned research includes optimizing additional material and design configurations to improve hydraulic conductivity and to expand capacity to capture a greater percentage of the flow during larger events.