Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2014NJ357B

Development of a new, effective and low-cost adsorption material to enhance Low Impact Development (LID) techniques for prevention of urban stormwater pollution in New Jersey

Institute: New Jersey
Year Established: 2014 Start Date: 2014-03-01 End Date: 2015-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,000

Principal Investigators: Hanieh Soleimanifar, Yang Deng

Project Summary: This project provides a new preliminary research plan to apply low-cost water treatment residual (WTR, an industrial waste)-coated mulch for enhancement of bioretention basins for removal of typical stormwater pollutants in an urban environment. Four types of Al- and Fe-WTR coated mulches will be carefully prepared and properly characterized. Bench scale batch and column tests will be sequentially carried out with synthetic polluted urban runoff containing heavy metals, phosphorus and hydrocarbon (motor oil). Results will allow for determination of the optimal mulch type and its operating conditions in terms of treatment performance. Finally, Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP) and Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) tests will examine whether undesirable chemicals may leach out from the modified mulches under different scenarios. If this project is successful, this research will become the PIs dissertation topic. With these encouraging preliminary data, the PI will develop her dissertation proposal and pursue a large student research grant.