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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Optimized Procedure for Determining the Adsorption of Phosphonates onto Granular Ferric Hydroxide using a Miniaturized Phosphorus Determination Method

Optimized Procedure for Determining the Adsorption of Phosphonates onto Granular Ferric Hydroxide using a Miniaturized Phosphorus Determination Method

Published on: May 18, 2018

Trapping phosphorus in runoff with a phosphorus removal structure.

Chad J Penn¹, Joshua M McGrath, Elliott Rounds

¹Dep. of Plant and Soil Science, Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater 47078-1020, USA. chad.penn@okstate.edu

Journal of Environmental Quality

|May 9, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study evaluated a steel slag structure for removing dissolved phosphorus (P) from runoff, reducing P by 25% in 5 months. Performance varied with flow rate, highlighting the need for material-specific models.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Engineering
Water Quality Management
Nutrient Pollution Control

Background:

Eutrophication, driven by phosphorus (P) inputs, degrades surface water quality.
P-sorptive byproducts in structures are proposed to filter dissolved P from runoff in high-P soils.
Effective management strategies are needed to mitigate P pollution in suburban watersheds.

Purpose of the Study:

To construct and monitor a P removal structure using steel slag in a suburban watershed.
To assess the efficacy of empirically developed flow-through equations in predicting structure performance.
To evaluate the removal efficiency of dissolved P from rainfall and irrigation events.

Main Methods:

A P removal structure utilizing steel slag as the sorption material was constructed and monitored.
Automatic water samplers collected samples before and after the structure for total dissolved P analysis.
Flow-through equations were developed and tested against observed structure performance.

Main Results:

The structure removed 25% of dissolved P during the first 5 months of operation.
P removal efficiency was higher during low flow, high retention time irrigation events compared to high flow, low retention time rainfall events.
The six largest storm flow events accounted for 75% of incoming P and 54% of removed P.
Flow-through equations provided reasonable estimates of structure lifetime but overpredicted cumulative P removal.

Conclusions:

Steel slag structures can reduce dissolved P in runoff, but performance is flow-dependent.
Empirical flow-through equations require refinement for accurate P removal prediction.
Material-specific properties (pH, Ca, Fe, alkalinity) are crucial for developing predictive models for P removal structures.