Innovative Juncus effusus plant biofilter for enhanced ammonia removal: design, construction, and preliminary testing

Abstract

A developing trend in stormwater treatment and management is the use of green technologies. Plant biofilters have been gaining  increasing use in support of green technology objectives. This technical note reports on the development and preliminary testing of a  laboratory-scale plant biofilter prototype for ammonia removal using a South African native plant species (Juncus effusus). The prototype  design was based on a conceptual model for nitrogen fixation, plant uptake, bacterial nitrification and soil sorption. Additionally, a plug  compartment was incorporated into the design to simulate plug flow as part of the conceptual model. Biofilter models with and without  inoculated bacteria were compared. Ammonia reduction, nitrite and nitrate formation were observed. Results showed that the inoculated  plant biofilter performed best, with an average of 61% reduction in ammonia within the filter compared to 15% in the normal  plant biofilter. The incorporation of a plug compartment aided in slowing down the ammonia infiltration rate, increasing the retention  time, and allowing for nitrification to occur.