Compost product optimization for surface water biofiltration applications

Compost material has been proposed for use in bioreactors for environmental restoration in some areas to remediate contaminated water and soil. Compost material is ideal for biofiltration because it supports large microbe populations, which may be capable of metabolizing numerous natural compounds. The objective of this project was to develop techniques to produce high quality compost from typical solid waste materials targeting nitrate removal in storm water biofiltration applications. Compost products were produced from different feedstocks and evaluated for their nitrate removal efficiencies. Three different compost products manufactured from varying feedstock amounts of wood waste and grass cuttings were evaluated using column studies. The compost product's quality was evaluated using pH, conductivity, and moisture content. An initial nitrate-nitrogen concentration of 13.5 mg/L was used for evaluation of nitrate removal. Effluent water from the columns was tested to determine the amount of nitrate removed over time.