Aarhus University tests P removal from drainage water in Denmark
The main compartments of the system that is built at the Fensholt fieldsite are i) a patented sediment filter for particle-bound P removal, ii) a reactive filter for retention of soluble P and iii) a sediment sludge storage tank.
Sediment filter
The sediment filter consists of lamellae and a mesh filter that retains particles. Periodically it is automatically flushed with resident water to resuspend particles before the slurry is pumped into the storage tank. After allowing for sediment settling, water flows back from the storage tank to the filter system.
Reactive filter
The reactive filter consists of a cylindrical iron net cage with a volume of 2.53 m3 (figure below). The reactive filter is packed with 2-4 mm granules of Diapure™, a calcinated diatomaceous earth with an iron oxide coating. Drainage water flows from the outside to the inside of the filter due to the hydraulic gradient. This specific design combines a high cross-sectional area with a high hydraulic residence time.
The P filter system is additionally equipped with a flow meter and a number of pressure transducers, recording continuously the water levels in the different wells. Drainage water samples are collected automatically by ISCO samplers, located at the inlet (ISCO1), between the sediment and reactive filter (ISCO2) and at the outlet (ISCO3).
Monitoring
Monitoring has started in March 2019, at the end of the drainage season. Thus, the data set is currently too small for a system evaluation. However, initial results indicate that total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were reduced by about half in the P filter system (figure below).
The monitoring will be continued in the next drainage season.
