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Woodchips used as groundwater filter |
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A tile line bioreactor
demonstration project developed by the Iowa Soybean Association has
been showing Iowa farmers a simple and inexpensive way to keep
groundwater clean.
The bioreactor is an underground trench
filled with a carbon source (commonly woodchips) through which tile
water is allowed to flow. The carbon source provides material within
which microorganisms can colonize. Using the wood chips as a food
source, the microorganisms break down the nitrate and expel the nitrate
as a gas.
The systems are easy to construct, relatively
inexpensive, take little or no land out of production and are believed
to require little maintenance. There are no adverse effects on crop
production, and they can be designed to not restrict drainage.
Early research has found that a bioreactor can remove around 25 to 35 percent of nitrate in tile line water.
www.iasoybeans.com
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