Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2013LA93B

Sustainable Iron Removal from Groundwater Supporting Aquaculture

Institute: Louisiana
Year Established: 2013 Start Date: 2013-03-01 End Date: 2014-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $10,299 Total Non-Federal Funds: $20,599

Principal Investigators: Ron Malone, Donald Adrian

Abstract: DUE TO REDUCED FUNDING FROM SEQUESTRATION, TASK 7 (Configuration of Bench Scale Iron Removal Apparaus) AND TASK 8 (Field Evaluation of Proposed Iron Removal Apparatus) WILL NOT BE UNDERTAKEN. THIS APPROACH WILL ALLOW US TO FOCUS ON THE LABORATORY WORK. ---- Eight percent of the groundwater pumped in Louisiana is used to support aquacultural industries which cumulatively have annual production in excess of 100 million dollars. Iron levels in several of Louisiana’s major aquifers exceed aquacultural guidelines for use of 0.15 ppm. This inhibits the industry or forces it to use surface or domestic quality groundwater. This project investigates how the iron oxidation and flocculation process impacts the particle size distribution. Oxidation approaches are investigated by standardized jar tests and particle size analysis, which will define the time of ferrous to ferric iron oxidation and the impact of the velocity gradient, G, on precipitate formation. This information is to be combined with existing knowledge on the suspended solids removal characteristics of technologies including clarifiers, floating bead filters, and/or sand filters to design the best filter for iron removal using computer models. This approach lays a scientific foundation for the design of simplified iron removal techniques compatible with the training and economic means of the largely rural aquacultural community. Bench scale apparatus compatible with aquacultural practices are tested on iron contaminated wells in the Mississippi and Red River alluvial groundwaters providing baseline demonstration for further adoption or refinement.