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Nitrate removal and N2O production from upflow and downflow column woodchip bioreactors

Cite this dataset

Feyereisen, Gary et al. (2020). Nitrate removal and N2O production from upflow and downflow column woodchip bioreactors [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hqbzkh1d2

Abstract

Woodchip denitrifying bioreactors (WDBR) reduce off-field tile drainage nitrogen (N) losses from agricultural fields.  Limited evaluation exists regarding the influence of flow direction through WDBRs.  Changing flow direction could reduce short circuiting.  This study evaluated the dependency of nitrate-nitrogen removal and dissolved nitrous oxide (dN2O) production rates on vertical flow direction in triplicate column bioreactors at 12-h (without carbon dosing) and 2-h (with carbon dosing) hydraulic residence times.  Results presented demonstrate that there was no significant difference in overall nitrogen removal rates from these column bioreactors as a function of flow direction.  There was the suggestion of lower nitrous oxide (N2O) production in the downflow direction, although this was not statistically significant due to the high variability of the N2O production observed in the upflow direction.  Carbon addition led to bioclogging of downflow columns; future work needs to identify dosing rate, placement, and conditions that prevent biofilm formation.

Methods

This dataset is supplement to:

Feyereisen, G.W., K.A. Spokas, J.S. Strock, D.J. Mulla, A.Z. Ranaivoson, and J.A. Coulter. 2020. Nitrate removal and N2O production from upflow and downflow column woodchip bioreactors. Agric. Environ. Lett.

The Materials and Methods in this paper describe how the data were obtained and analyzed.

Usage notes

The data download includes a Read_me.pdf file that explains the data files, defines the column headings, and identifies the variable units.

Funding

Minnesota Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, Award: 17086IN

Minnesota Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, Award: 17086IN