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Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value / STUART CAIRNS

Swansea University Author: STUART CAIRNS

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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.63279

Abstract

The contamination of aqueous environments by metals of concern due to anthropogenic factors such as the use of motor vehicles is increasing at an alarming rate, with contaminants such as lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) being carried into receiving waterbodies. The sources of vehic...

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Published: Swansea, Wales, UK 2023
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Robertson, Iain. and Mabbett, Ian.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa63279
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fullrecord <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><rfc1807 xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>63279</id><entry>2023-04-28</entry><title>Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>30793e6e3c5175f8f9ced898770fe297</sid><firstname>STUART</firstname><surname>CAIRNS</surname><name>STUART CAIRNS</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2023-04-28</date><abstract>The contamination of aqueous environments by metals of concern due to anthropogenic factors such as the use of motor vehicles is increasing at an alarming rate, with contaminants such as lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) being carried into receiving waterbodies. The sources of vehicle pollution that contaminate these waterbodies through road runoff are reasonably well understood and the release of the most recognised metals of concern (Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd) are primarily as a result of vehicle abrasion or leaks. Current techniques to remediate motorway runoff, such as balancing ponds, are in place but have the potential to leave toxic residue with the associated removal costs often proving prohibitive.This research focuses on the use of biochar and amended biochar as a remediator for the key metals of concern from motorway run off. The primary aims of this thesis are to: (i) investigate which amendments to biochar improve the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd (ii) investigate the immobilisation capacities and immobilisation mechanisms of biochar and amended biochar (iii) investigate if amended biochar leaches nutrients harmful to aquatic environments and if so what treatment options are available to mitigate leaching without reducing the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd, and (iv) to quantify the contact time required for amended biochar to immobilise key metals of concern.Amendments to biochar, particularly wood ash, were found to significantly increase the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd. Wood ash amended biochar had a maximum measured removal of 61.5 mg/g for Pb, 38.9 mg/g for Cu, 12.1 mg/g for Zn and 10.2 mg/g for Cd, around an order of magnitude greater than pristine biochar. Immobilisation was primarily as a result of precipitation, ion exchange and co-precipitation. When the wood ash was sintered to the biochar, ground to &lt;3mm and rinsed with deionised water the leaching of nutrients, such as phosphates, sulphates and nitrates, fell to below Water Framework Directive thresholds without reducing immobilisation of the metal contaminants. Furthermore, once these treatments were undertaken, the fast removal performance of wood ash amended biochar was still evident with between 86 – 97% of metals being immobilised in the first minute due to precipitation and ion exchange which are key to early stage immobilisation. The results from this research clearly indicate that biochar, specifically wood ash amended biochar has the potential to be scaled up and used to immobilise Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd from motorway runoff as well as from other contaminated aqueous environments such as mine waters.</abstract><type>E-Thesis</type><journal/><volume/><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher/><placeOfPublication>Swansea, Wales, UK</placeOfPublication><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords>Biochar, motorway, balancing ponds, metals, remediation</keywords><publishedDay>23</publishedDay><publishedMonth>3</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2023</publishedYear><publishedDate>2023-03-23</publishedDate><doi>10.23889/SUthesis.63279</doi><url/><notes>A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis due to copyright restrictions.</notes><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><supervisor>Robertson, Iain. and Mabbett, Ian.</supervisor><degreelevel>Doctoral</degreelevel><degreename>Ph.D</degreename><degreesponsorsfunders>KESS2</degreesponsorsfunders><apcterm/><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2023-09-28T15:12:15.1414672</lastEdited><Created>2023-04-28T14:51:12.9544780</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography</level></path><authors><author><firstname>STUART</firstname><surname>CAIRNS</surname><order>1</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>63279__27273__cc422df5316248a3a5b5019baf8efd45.pdf</filename><originalFilename>2023_Cairns_S.final.63279.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2023-04-28T15:30:24.6857010</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>10274155</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Redacted version - open access</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>Copyright: The Author, Stuart Cairns, 2023.</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling v2 63279 2023-04-28 Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value 30793e6e3c5175f8f9ced898770fe297 STUART CAIRNS STUART CAIRNS true false 2023-04-28 The contamination of aqueous environments by metals of concern due to anthropogenic factors such as the use of motor vehicles is increasing at an alarming rate, with contaminants such as lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) being carried into receiving waterbodies. The sources of vehicle pollution that contaminate these waterbodies through road runoff are reasonably well understood and the release of the most recognised metals of concern (Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd) are primarily as a result of vehicle abrasion or leaks. Current techniques to remediate motorway runoff, such as balancing ponds, are in place but have the potential to leave toxic residue with the associated removal costs often proving prohibitive.This research focuses on the use of biochar and amended biochar as a remediator for the key metals of concern from motorway run off. The primary aims of this thesis are to: (i) investigate which amendments to biochar improve the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd (ii) investigate the immobilisation capacities and immobilisation mechanisms of biochar and amended biochar (iii) investigate if amended biochar leaches nutrients harmful to aquatic environments and if so what treatment options are available to mitigate leaching without reducing the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd, and (iv) to quantify the contact time required for amended biochar to immobilise key metals of concern.Amendments to biochar, particularly wood ash, were found to significantly increase the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd. Wood ash amended biochar had a maximum measured removal of 61.5 mg/g for Pb, 38.9 mg/g for Cu, 12.1 mg/g for Zn and 10.2 mg/g for Cd, around an order of magnitude greater than pristine biochar. Immobilisation was primarily as a result of precipitation, ion exchange and co-precipitation. When the wood ash was sintered to the biochar, ground to <3mm and rinsed with deionised water the leaching of nutrients, such as phosphates, sulphates and nitrates, fell to below Water Framework Directive thresholds without reducing immobilisation of the metal contaminants. Furthermore, once these treatments were undertaken, the fast removal performance of wood ash amended biochar was still evident with between 86 – 97% of metals being immobilised in the first minute due to precipitation and ion exchange which are key to early stage immobilisation. The results from this research clearly indicate that biochar, specifically wood ash amended biochar has the potential to be scaled up and used to immobilise Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd from motorway runoff as well as from other contaminated aqueous environments such as mine waters. E-Thesis Swansea, Wales, UK Biochar, motorway, balancing ponds, metals, remediation 23 3 2023 2023-03-23 10.23889/SUthesis.63279 A selection of third party content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis due to copyright restrictions. COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Robertson, Iain. and Mabbett, Ian. Doctoral Ph.D KESS2 2023-09-28T15:12:15.1414672 2023-04-28T14:51:12.9544780 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography STUART CAIRNS 1 63279__27273__cc422df5316248a3a5b5019baf8efd45.pdf 2023_Cairns_S.final.63279.pdf 2023-04-28T15:30:24.6857010 Output 10274155 application/pdf Redacted version - open access true Copyright: The Author, Stuart Cairns, 2023. true eng
title Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value
spellingShingle Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value
STUART CAIRNS
title_short Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value
title_full Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value
title_fullStr Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value
title_full_unstemmed Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value
title_sort Developing motorway balancing ponds with long-term net ecological value
author_id_str_mv 30793e6e3c5175f8f9ced898770fe297
author_id_fullname_str_mv 30793e6e3c5175f8f9ced898770fe297_***_STUART CAIRNS
author STUART CAIRNS
author2 STUART CAIRNS
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publishDate 2023
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUthesis.63279
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography
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description The contamination of aqueous environments by metals of concern due to anthropogenic factors such as the use of motor vehicles is increasing at an alarming rate, with contaminants such as lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) being carried into receiving waterbodies. The sources of vehicle pollution that contaminate these waterbodies through road runoff are reasonably well understood and the release of the most recognised metals of concern (Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd) are primarily as a result of vehicle abrasion or leaks. Current techniques to remediate motorway runoff, such as balancing ponds, are in place but have the potential to leave toxic residue with the associated removal costs often proving prohibitive.This research focuses on the use of biochar and amended biochar as a remediator for the key metals of concern from motorway run off. The primary aims of this thesis are to: (i) investigate which amendments to biochar improve the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd (ii) investigate the immobilisation capacities and immobilisation mechanisms of biochar and amended biochar (iii) investigate if amended biochar leaches nutrients harmful to aquatic environments and if so what treatment options are available to mitigate leaching without reducing the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd, and (iv) to quantify the contact time required for amended biochar to immobilise key metals of concern.Amendments to biochar, particularly wood ash, were found to significantly increase the immobilisation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd. Wood ash amended biochar had a maximum measured removal of 61.5 mg/g for Pb, 38.9 mg/g for Cu, 12.1 mg/g for Zn and 10.2 mg/g for Cd, around an order of magnitude greater than pristine biochar. Immobilisation was primarily as a result of precipitation, ion exchange and co-precipitation. When the wood ash was sintered to the biochar, ground to <3mm and rinsed with deionised water the leaching of nutrients, such as phosphates, sulphates and nitrates, fell to below Water Framework Directive thresholds without reducing immobilisation of the metal contaminants. Furthermore, once these treatments were undertaken, the fast removal performance of wood ash amended biochar was still evident with between 86 – 97% of metals being immobilised in the first minute due to precipitation and ion exchange which are key to early stage immobilisation. The results from this research clearly indicate that biochar, specifically wood ash amended biochar has the potential to be scaled up and used to immobilise Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd from motorway runoff as well as from other contaminated aqueous environments such as mine waters.
published_date 2023-03-23T15:12:16Z
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score 11.01628

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