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" Wood chip denitrification bioreactors can reduce nitrate in tile drainage "
Hartz, Tim; Smith, Richard; Cahn, Mike; Bottoms, Thomas; Bustamante, Sabastian Castro; Tourte, Laura; Johnson, Kenneth; Coletti, Luke
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AL
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| Record Number
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945018
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LA5xb5g3p5
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Main Entry
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Hartz, Tim; Smith, Richard; Cahn, Mike; Bottoms, Thomas; Bustamante, Sabastian Castro; Tourte, Laura; Johnson, Kenneth; Coletti, Luke
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| Title & Author
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Wood chip denitrification bioreactors can reduce nitrate in tile drainage [Article]\ Hartz, Tim; Smith, Richard; Cahn, Mike; Bottoms, Thomas; Bustamante, Sabastian Castro; Tourte, Laura; Johnson, Kenneth; Coletti, Luke
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| Title of Periodical
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California Agriculture
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71/1
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| Date
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2017
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| Abstract
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Widespread contamination of surface water with nitrate-nitrogen (NO<sub>3</sub>-N) has led to increasing regulatory pressure to minimize NO<sub>3</sub>-N release from agricultural operations. We evaluated the use of wood chip denitrification bioreactors to remove NO<sub>3</sub>-N from tile drain effluent on two vegetable farms in Monterey County. Across several years of operation, denitrification in the bioreactors reduced NO<sub>3</sub>-N concentration by an average of 8 to 10 milligrams per liter (mg L<sup>-1</sup>) per day during the summer and approximately 5 mg L<sup>-1</sup> per day in winter. However, due to the high NO<sub>3</sub>-N concentration in the tile drainage (60 to 190 mg L<sup>-1</sup>), water discharged from the bioreactors still contained NO<sub>3</sub>-N far above the regulatory target of < 10 mg L<sup>-1</sup>. Carbon enrichment (applying soluble carbon to stimulate denitrifying bacteria) using methanol as the carbon source substantially increased denitrification, both in laboratory experiments and in the on-farm bioreactors. Using a carbon enrichment system in which methanol was proportionally injected based on tile drainage NO<sub>3</sub>-N concentration allowed nearly complete NO<sub>3</sub>-N removal with minimal adverse environmental effects.
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