A horizontal permeable reactive barrier stimulates nitrate removal and shifts microbial ecology during rapid infiltration for managed recharge

Beganskas, S.; Gorski, Galen; Weathers, T. S.; Fisher, A. T.; Schmidt, C. M.; Saltikov, Chad W.; Redford, Kaitlyn E.; Stoneburner, Brendon; Harmon, R. E.; Weir, W. B.

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.07.039

Cited by 34 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…For example, a PRB made of vegetal compost and woodchips was installed in an MAR system to promote denitrification during infiltration of diverted river water, resulting in 30–40% nitrogen removal on some days but negligible removal or addition on other days . Controlled percolation experiments using water with elevated [NO 3 ] demonstrated that adding a woodchip PRB to coarse-grained soils (>90% sand) led to enhanced denitrification during rapid infiltration . This study also noted a negative correlation between rates of infiltration and denitrification, with tests run at infiltration rates up to 1.9 m/day.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Field and Laboratory Studies Linking Hydrologic, Geochemical, and Microbiological Processes and Enhanced Denitrification during Infiltration for Managed Recharge

Gorski

Fisher

Beganskas

et al. 2019

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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We present linked field and laboratory studies investigating controls on enhanced nitrate processing during infiltration for managed aquifer recharge. We examine how carbon-rich permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) made of woodchips or biochar, placed in the path of infiltrating water, stimulate microbial denitrification. In field studies with infiltration of 0.2–0.3 m/day and initial nitrate concentrations of [NO3-N] = 20–28 mg/L, we observed that woodchips promoted 37 ± 6.6% nitrate removal (primarily via denitrification), and biochar promoted 33 ± 12% nitrate removal (likely via denitrification and physical absorption effects). In contrast, unamended soil at the same site generated <5% denitrification. We find that the presence of a carbon-rich PRB has a modest effect on the underlying soil microbial community structure in these experiments, indicating that existing consortia have the capability to carry out denitrification given favorable conditions. In laboratory studies using intact cores from the same site, we extend the results to quantify how infiltration rate influences denitrification, with and without a carbon-rich PRB. We find that the influence of both PRB materials is diminished at higher infiltration rates (>0.7 m/day) but can still result in denitrification. These results demonstrate a quantitative relationship between infiltration rate and denitrification that depends on the presence and nature of a PRB. Combined results from these field and laboratory experiments, with complementary studies of denitrification during infiltration through other soils, suggest a framework for understanding linked hydrologic and chemical controls on microbial denitrification (and potentially other redox-sensitive processes) that could improve water quality during managed recharge.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Field and Laboratory Studies Linking Hydrologic, Geochemical, and Microbiological Processes and Enhanced Denitrification during Infiltration for Managed Recharge

Gorski

Fisher

Beganskas

et al. 2019

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Similarly, in situ amendments for infiltration basins have been proposed, including addition of carbon sources (e.g., wood chips) to create a horizontal permeable reactive barrier and promote denitrifying conditions. − These studies focus on nitrate removal from recharge water during infiltration and associated shifts in microbial community structure. While nitrate is a primary contaminant, preventing nitrate from reaching deeper groundwater supplies can also minimize the potential for oxidation of reduced immobile geogenic contaminant phases (e.g., arsenian pyrite, uraninite) limiting mobilization potential along the flow path.…”

Section: Water Quality Considerations For the Future Of Marmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobilization of Arsenic and Other Naturally Occurring Contaminants during Managed Aquifer Recharge: A Critical Review

Fakhreddine

Prommer

Scanlon

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Population growth and climate variability highlight the need to enhance freshwater security and diversify water supplies. Subsurface storage of water in depleted aquifers is increasingly used globally to alleviate disparities in water supply and demand often caused by climate extremes including floods and droughts. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) stores excess water supplies during wet periods via infiltration into shallow underlying aquifers or direct injection into deep aquifers for recovery during dry seasons. Additionally, MAR can be designed to improve recharge water quality, particularly in the case of soil aquifer treatment and riverbank filtration. While there are many potential benefits to MAR, introduction of recharge water can alter the native geochemical and hydrological conditions in the receiving aquifer, potentially mobilizing toxic, naturally occurring (geogenic) contaminants from sediments into groundwater where they pose a much larger threat to human and ecosystem health. On the basis of the present literature, arsenic poses the most widespread challenge at MAR sites due to its ubiquity in subsurface sediments and toxicity at trace concentrations. Other geogenic contaminants of concern include fluoride, molybdenum, manganese, and iron. Water quality degradation threatens the viability of some MAR projects with several sites abandoning operations due to arsenic or other contaminant mobilization. Here, we provide a critical review of studies that have uncovered the geochemical and hydrological mechanisms controlling mobilization of arsenic and other geogenic contaminants at MAR sites worldwide, including both infiltration and injection sites. These mechanisms were evaluated based on site-specific characteristics, including hydrological setting, native aquifer geochemistry, and operational site parameters (e.g., source of recharge water and recharge/recovery cycling). Observed mechanisms of geogenic contaminant mobilization during MAR via injection include shifting redox conditions and, to a lesser extent, pH-promoted desorption, mineral solubility, and competitive ligand exchange. The relative importance of these mechanisms depends on various site-specific, operational parameters, including pretreatment of injection water and duration of injection, storage, and recovery phases. This critical review synthesizes findings across case studies in various geochemical, hydrological, and operational settings to better understand controls on arsenic and other geogenic contaminant mobilization and inform the planning and design of future MAR projects to protect groundwater quality. This critical review concludes with an evaluation of proposed management strategies for geogenic contaminants and identification of knowledge gaps regarding fate and transport of geogenic contaminants during MAR.

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“…The addition of reactive barriers has shown promising results for the removal of organic micropollutants and for reducing the number of pathogens in the treated water ( Schaffer et al, 2015 ; Valhondo et al, 2020a ; Modrzyński et al, 2021 ). With respect to nitrogen (N) removal, reactive barriers can also support denitrification for the removal of nitrate ions ( Beganskas et al, 2018 ; Grau-Martínez et al, 2018 ). However, the fate of N when ammonium-rich treated sewage water is used with compost as a reactive layer has not yet been well addressed and may even counteract the desired N removal ( Modrzyński et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen Removal Capacity of Microbial Communities Developing in Compost- and Woodchip-Based Multipurpose Reactive Barriers for Aquifer Recharge With Wastewater

et al. 2022

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Global water supplies are threatened by climate changes and the expansion of urban areas, which have led to an increasing interest in nature-based solutions for water reuse and reclamation. Reclaimed water is a possible resource for recharging aquifers, and the addition of an organic reactive barrier has been proposed to improve the removal of pollutants. There has been a large focus on organic pollutants, but less is known about multifunctional barriers, that is, how barriers also remove nutrients that threaten groundwater ecosystems. Herein, we investigated how compost- and woodchip-based barriers affect nitrogen (N) removal in a pilot soil aquifer treatment facility designed for removing nutrients and recalcitrant compounds by investigating the composition of microbial communities and their capacity for N transformations. Secondary-treated, ammonium-rich wastewater was infiltrated through the barriers, and the changes in the concentration of ammonium, nitrate, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured after passage through the barrier during 1 year of operation. The development and composition of the microbial community in the barriers were examined, and potential N-transforming processes in the barriers were quantified by determining the abundance of key functional genes using quantitative PCR. Only one barrier, based on compost, significantly decreased the ammonium concentration in the infiltrated water. However, the reduction of reactive N in the barriers was moderate (between 21 and 37%), and there were no differences between the barrier types. All the barriers were after 1 year dominated by members of Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, although the community composition differed between the barriers. Bacterial classes belonging to the phylum Chloroflexi showed an increased relative abundance in the compost-based barriers. In contrast to the increased genetic potential for nitrification in the compost-based barriers, the woodchip-based barrier demonstrated higher genetic potentials for denitrification, nitrous oxide reduction, and dissimilatory reduction of nitrate to ammonium. The barriers have previously been shown to display a high capacity to degrade recalcitrant pollutants, but in this study, we show that most barriers performed poorly in terms of N removal and those based on compost also leaked DOC, highlighting the difficulties in designing barriers that satisfactorily meet several purposes.

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A horizontal permeable reactive barrier stimulates nitrate removal and shifts microbial ecology during rapid infiltration for managed recharge

Cited by 34 publications

References 70 publications

Field and Laboratory Studies Linking Hydrologic, Geochemical, and Microbiological Processes and Enhanced Denitrification during Infiltration for Managed Recharge

Field and Laboratory Studies Linking Hydrologic, Geochemical, and Microbiological Processes and Enhanced Denitrification during Infiltration for Managed Recharge

Mobilization of Arsenic and Other Naturally Occurring Contaminants during Managed Aquifer Recharge: A Critical Review

Nitrogen Removal Capacity of Microbial Communities Developing in Compost- and Woodchip-Based Multipurpose Reactive Barriers for Aquifer Recharge With Wastewater

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