Long term testing of short hydraulic residence time (HRT)
Passive treatment systems use chemical and biological reactions that occur naturally. But a key limitation is their large size. We could make the systems more compact by reducing the hydraulic resistance time (HRT).
Project leader
Dr Adam Jarvis
Dr Neil Gray
Dates
2015-2020
Project staff
Dr Catherine Gandy
Dr Adam Jarvis
Sponsors
Coal Authority
Description
Passive treatment systems are low cost as their operation doesn’t need chemicals or energy. Instead, they use chemical and biological reactions that occur naturally. But a key limitation is their large size.
Such systems usually need to be large because the reactions that remove pollutants in these systems are quite slow. We could make the systems more compact by reducing HRT. This would make them suitable for treatment of more polluted waters, especially where there are land constraints.
This project is lab-based. We will identify treatment system substrates with suitable geochemical and physical characteristics. The substrates will thus enhance metal removal rates and enable a reduction in HRT and system footprint.