Soil amendments to enhance phosphorus sorption

Principal mechanisms for phosphorus (P) removal in bioretention are the filtration of particulate-bound P and chemical sorption of dissolved P (e.g. summarized in Hunt et al 2012). Most stormwater control measures (SCMs) capture particulate P by settling or filtration, but leave dissolved P (typically phosphates), which is most bio-available, untreated. This untreated P accounts on average for 45 percent of total phosphorus in stormwater runoff and can be up to 95% of the total phosphorus, depending, for example, on the storm event (Erickson et al 2012). Phosphorus sorbing materials contain a metal cation (typically di or trivalent) that reacts with dissolved phosphorus to create an insoluble compound by adsorption or precipitation or both (Buda et al 2012). Soil components and amendments that have been shown to be effective to increase chemical sorption of dissolved P include:

• Iron filings (Erickson et al 2012)
• Steel wool (Erickson et al 2007)
• Native iron rich soils such as those in the Piedmont of the Mid and Southern Atlantic USA (Hunt et al 2012), or Krasnozem soil in Australia (Lucas and Greenway 2011)
• Water treatment residuals (WTRs), which are a by-product of drinking water treatment and a source of aluminum and iron hydroxides (O’Neill and Davis 2012 a and b, Hinman and Wulkan 2012, Lucas and Greenway 2011, Lucas and Greenway 2010)
• Sorptive media (Imbrium) (Balch et al 2013)

Buda et al (2012) provide a literature review of P-sorption amendments. Characteristics of ideal P-sorption amendments include low cost, high availability, low toxicity to soil and water resources, potential for reuse as a soil amendment once fully saturated (Buda et al 2012), and no toxicity to plants, wildlife, or children. It is also crucial that soil amendments do not negatively impact soil infiltration rate and ability to grow vigorous plants. Some P sorptive amendments, such as water treatment residuals (WTRs), are waste products turned into a resource to reduce P in bioretention (or agricultural) soils.Results from much of the research to date on use of P-sorbing materials to reduce nutrients in stormwater effluent are promising so far, but much remains to be learned about lifespan and long term effects of P sorbing materials on soils and plants.

Benefits

P sorptive amendments have been shown to provide effective P retention for the expected lifetime of bioretention facilities (e.g. Lucas and Greenway 2011, O’Neill and Davis, 2012 a and b). Even with sorptive amendments, the presence of healthy vegetation plays a crucial role in extending P reduction lifespan (Lucas and Greenway 2011).”Vegetation is essential not only for uptake, but even more for its effects on extending sorption capacity” (Lucas and Greenway 2011).

Types of P-sorbing materials

The primary P-sorbing chemicals are calcium (Ca), aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe). These are found in a variety of materials.

Limestone or calcareous sand

Combinations of C 33 sand with limestone or calcareous sand were tested in laboratory columns by Erickson et al (2007). Limestone or calcareous sand is not recommended as a P sorptive amendment in bioretention facilities because it clogged the columns, resulting in hydraulic failure.

Drinking Water Treatment Residuals (WTS)

Drinking-water treatment residuals are primarily sediment, metal (aluminum, iron or calcium) oxide/hydroxides, activated carbon, and lime removed from raw water during the water purification process (Birikorang et al., 2009). WTRs are increasingly being used to control phosphorus in soils where phosphorus leaching may be problematic for water quality. Kawczyinski and Achtermann (1991) reported that landfilling is the predominant disposal method, followed by land application, sanitary sewer disposal, direct stream discharge, and lagooning. WTRs contain high concentrations of amorphous aluminum (Al) or iron (Fe), making them potential amendments for sorbing soil phosphorus.

Aluminum-based Water Treatment Residuals (WTRs)

O’Neill and Davis (2012a and 2012b) recommend a bioretention soil media of 5 percent WTR, 3 percent triple-shredded hardwood bark mulch, and 92 percent loamy sand for P reduction on the basis of batch, minicolumn, and large column studies. The life expectancy for this media was 20 years. In a comparison of bioretention soil medias (BSM’s) with varying fines concentrations, they found that increasing the concentration of sand (i.e. decreasing fines) improved P reduction. They also found that hardwood bark mulch, a source of organic matter typically low in P, further improved P reduction (O’Neill and Davis 2012a). The authors contend that an oxalate-extractable aluminum-, iron-, and phosphorus based metric, the oxalate ratio, can be used to predict P sorption capacity, and suggest that a media oxalate ratio of 20-40 is expected to meet P adsorption requirements for nutrient sensitive watersheds.

This media adsorbed 88.5 percent of the applied P mass, compared to a non-WTR amended control media for which effluent P mass increased 71.2 increased. “This media consistently produced total phosphorus effluent mean event concentrations < 25 micrograms per liter and exhibited a maximum effluent concentration of only 70 micrograms per liter” (O’Neill and Davis 2012 b). “Concentrations of P as low as 25 micrograms P per liter may be necessary to reduce eutrophication risk depending on receiving water conditions (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA 1986) in O’Neill and Davis 2012a). References to additional studies are found in O’Neill and Davis (2012a and 2012b).

Iron-based Water Treatment Residuals (WTRs)

As reviewed in O’Neill and Davis (2012 a), one study of iron based WTRs found iron based WTRs to be ineffective to P reduction because they solubilized and released all adsorbed P in reducing conditions (Stumm and Morgan 1996 in O’Neill and Davis 2012 a), but another more recent study found this may not be the case (Shober and Sims 2009 in O’Neill and Davis 2012 a). According to Dr. Allen Davis, iron based water treatment residuals “should work just as well, maybe better than Al. The concern with Fe is that if the media becomes anaerobic due to flooding or any other reason, the Fe can be reduced and will dissolve. It adds another layer of complexity to the system.” This concern can be addressed by designing the bioretention practice to ensure the layer where P sorbtion will occur stays aerobic.

Iron filings

Research by Erickson et al suggests that the lifespan for iron enhanced sand filtration (5% iron) with a typical impervious area ratio should be at least 30 years (Erickson et al 2012), and dissolved phosphorus capture should be greater than 80 percent for more than 30 years (Erickson 2010). Many agricultural studies have also found several forms of iron enhancements to be effective to capture P (e.g. Chardon et al 2012, Stoner et al 2012, literature review in Buda et al 2012). Research showing that native iron-rich soils also have high P sorption capacity further supports giving dissolved P removal credit (e.g. Lucas and Greenway 2011). Stenlund (2013) has observed that adding iron to soil causes the soil to harden to a rock like medium, and recommends augering holes for plant growth into soils that have been amended with iron.

Imbrium Sorptive®MEDIA

Imbrium Sorptive®MEDIA, a proprietary P sorbing amendment available from Contech, is an engineered granular media containing aluminum oxide and iron oxide that demonstratessubstantial capacity for adsorption of dissolved phosphorus from stormwater runoff. A recent study reported results from monitoring P reduction of 5 bioretention mesocosms with varying concentrations of Imbrium Sorptive®MEDIA (Balch et al 2013). The study is summarized below. Five individual bioretention cells were monitored, each with 50 cm (20 inches) depth of soil that consisted of sand and 15% peat moss. “Four of them had differentconcentrations of Sorbtive® Media (3%, 5%, 10% and 17% by volume). The fifthcell contained only the sand/peat soil mix and no amendment, and thereforerepresented a control that provided the ability to determine how muchphosphorus was retained by the sand/peat mix alone.” “The total volume of spiked artificial stormwater applied to each cell approximated the volume of cumulative runoff generated in this region [Canada] over a two-year period by a drainage area five times the size of a bioretention cell.”“At every phosphorus concentration, all the cells amended with Sorbtive® Media demonstrated much higher percent removal of phosphorus compared to the control cell with no Sorbtive® Media. The performance gap between the amended cells and the control cell widened as the phosphorus concentration increased. At the 0.2% target phosphorus concentration, mean dissolved phosphorus removal ranged 79-92% for the amended cells compared to 54% for the control cell. At the 0.8% target phosphorus concentration, mean dissolved phosphorus removal ranged 86-98% for the amended cells compared to 20% for the control cell. In the final week of the study, with 0.8% target phosphorus concentration in the artificial stormwater, percent removal of dissolved phosphorus was 82% for the 3% amendment, 97-98% for the 5%, 10%, and 17% amendments, and 11% for the control. These results demonstrate that the Sorbtive® Media maintained high phosphorus adsorptive capacity throughout the study, especially at the 5% and greater amendment levels.”

Researchers estimate that the lifespan for Imbrium should be at least 10-30 years, depending, for example, on P loading and performance goals (Garbon 2013, Contech Engineering 2013). Contech Engineering (2013) estimated 45% dissolved P removal at 20 years after initial installation of 5% Sorptive media by volume. Field studies with Imbrium are also underway in Wisconsin (Bannerman 2013, personal communication). Additionally, Imbrium media has been used in an upflow filter on a North Carolina wet pond, resulting in >80% removal of dissolved P during ten monitored storm events (Winston 2013, personal communication). To our knowledge, no field installations with Imbrium Sorptive®MEDIA have been monitored long term. Field studies to monitor long term performance of bioretention with P sorbing amendments are recommended, to monitor clogging potential and P reduction performance over the bioretention lifespan.