High nitrogen and phosphorus content in storm water runoff has affected groundwater, springs and surface water by impacting ecosystem integrity and human health. Nitrate may be toxic and can cause human health problem such as methemoglobinemia, liver damage and even cancers. Phosphorus may trigger the eutrophication issues in fresh water bodies, which could result in toxic algae and eventually endanger the source of drinking waters. Sorption media with mixes of some recycled materials, such as sawdust and tire crumb, combined with sand/silt and limestone, becomes appealing for nutrient removal in environmental management. This paper presented is a specific type of functionalized filtration media, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms with reaction kinetics for nutrient removal using a suite of batch tests represented. Pollutants of concern include ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, orthophosphate and total dissolved phosphorus. Application potential in storm water management facilities, such as dry ponds, is emphasized in terms of life expectancy and reaction kinetics. As compared to the natural soil that is selected as the control case in the column test, our green sorption media mixture is proved relatively effective in terms of removing most of the target pollutants under various influent waste loads.

Driven by excess nutrients in water bodies, eutrophication has long been an issue in water resources management. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in a highly eutrophic water body lead to hypoxia, creating a “dead zone,” which renders the oxygen levels inadequate for the survival of marine life. This study examined the field-scale filtration performance of two specialty absorbents to improve watershed remediation within a Total Maximum Daily Load program. The goal was to simultaneously remove nutrients and biological pollutants along Canal 23 (C-23) in the St. Lucie River Basin, Florida. The filtration system installed in the C-23 river corridor was equipped with either clay– perlite with sand sorption media (CPS) or zero-valent iron and perlite green environmental media (ZIPGEM). Both media were formulated with varying combinations of sand, clay, perlite, and/or recycled iron based on distinct recipes. Seasonality effects were also evident in nutrient removal efficiencies while the decomposition of dissolved organic nitrogen played a pivotal role in nutrient removal, Overall, ZIPGEM demonstrated a more stable nutrient removal efficiency than CPS in the phase of seasonal changes while biological pollutants can be fully removed over seasons.

Due to environmental health and nutrient impact concerns, the conventional on-site sewage collection, treatment, and disposal systems are no longer able to meet the nutrient reduction requirements for wastewater effluent and may represent a large fraction of pollutant loads. The loads include not only nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), but also pathogens such as fecal coliform and E. coli which indicate the presence of other disease-causing bacteria flowing into aquatic system that adversely affect public health. A subsurface upflow wetland, which is an effective small-scale wastewater treatment system with low energy and maintenance requirements and operational costs, fits the current nutrient and pathogen removal situation having received wide attention throughout the world. Within this research study, a subsurface upflow wetland system (SUW), including four parallel SUW (three planted versus one unplanted), were constructed as a key component of the septic tank system receiving 454 liters per day (120 GPD) influent using the green sorption media along with selected plant species. It was proved effective in removing both nutrients and pathogens. During a one month test run, the planted wetlands achieved a removal efficiency of 84.2%, 97.3 %, 98.93 % and 99.92%, compared to the control wetland, 10.5%, 85.7 %, 99.74 % and 100.0 %, in total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), fecal coli and E.Coli, respectively. Denitrification was proved to be the dominant pathway for removing N as evidenced by the mass balance and real-time PCR analyses. A simplified compartmental dynamics simulation model of constructed subsurface upflow wetlands was also developed to provide a dependable reference and tool for design of constructed subsurface upflow wetland.