Woodchips and water quality: Iowa State awarded $750,000 to study bioreactors

Iowa State University researches hope more studying of woodchip bioreactors will lead to better water quality. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Iowa State University roughly $750,000 to improve water quality through woodchip bioreactors.

A woodchip bioreactor works by intercepting drainage water and transporting it to an area that has a carbon substrate, such as woodchips, and denitrifying microorganisms to remove nitrate from the water. The remaining water is released back into a waterway.

The process allows for cleaner water, but poses problems related to the woodchips and cost, Iowa State agriculture and biosystems engineering professor Michelle Soupir said.

“There’s only two sources for the woodchips because woodchips need to be a certain size so it’s kind of difficult to secure the material,” Soupir said. “Also, we want to make sure that the carbon that we’re putting into these bioreactors is working the best, so we want to get the best investment in dollars that we’re using to invest in these conservation practices.”

Soupir said as part of the project, the researchers hope to work alongside landowners and those clearing out timber. By examining the effectiveness of different types of wood on the bioreactors, researchers hope to have a better understanding of the most efficient types of wood to use.

“There’s a big outreach piece with woodland management and timber buyers and foresters to try and look at ways to have healthy woodlands that can also benefit water quality,” Soupir said.

With more effective bioreactors across Iowa, water quality throughout the state can be improved, Soupir added.

Soupir said Iowa State will use the money from the grant to pay a graduate student and staff member as part of the research.

The grant is intended to support research focused on water conservation and water use efficiency, according to a press release. Soupir said the primary goal of the project is simply to “clean the water.”

The USDA’s Institute of Food and Agriculture also awarded grants to 14 other universities, besides Iowa State, worth around $6.25 million.

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