Low-Quality Irrigation Water Treated Using Waste Biofilters
Teresa Rodríguez-Espinosa,
Ana Pérez Gimeno,
María Belén Almendro Candel,
Ignacio Gómez Lucas,
Jose Navarro-Pedreño
Affiliations
Teresa Rodríguez-Espinosa
Group of Soil Science and Environmental Technology GETECMA, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernández of Elche, Avd. de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Alicante, Spain
Ana Pérez Gimeno
Group of Soil Science and Environmental Technology GETECMA, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernández of Elche, Avd. de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Alicante, Spain
María Belén Almendro Candel
Group of Soil Science and Environmental Technology GETECMA, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernández of Elche, Avd. de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Alicante, Spain
Ignacio Gómez Lucas
Group of Soil Science and Environmental Technology GETECMA, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernández of Elche, Avd. de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Alicante, Spain
Jose Navarro-Pedreño
Group of Soil Science and Environmental Technology GETECMA, Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernández of Elche, Avd. de la Universidad s/n, 03202 Elche, Alicante, Spain
Although in water-deficient regions, agricultural runoff, drainage water or surplus irrigation water is often used, there are constraints related to its quality to be considered (salinity, nutrients and pollutants). Thus, it is necessary to treat surplus irrigation water considering the low-energy supply systems available to farmers. This work focuses on a nature-based water treatment system consisting of two prototypes of anaerobic bioreactors with horizontal or vertical flow. To enhance the circular economy strategy, two different wastes (coarse sand and almond pruning) were used as bioreactor components. The aim of the research was to monitor the quality of the water (pH, electrical conductivity, suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, alkalinity and bicarbonate, carbonate and nitrogen contents) before and after the treatment. All the parameters studied (except chemical oxygen demand) were reduced by the treatments, but with large variations. Furthermore, there was 100% nitrogen reduction in the horizontal water flow treatment with the filter bed formed by coarse sand and almond pruning. It was observed that the variation in the concentration of some parameters was associated with the type of filter bed (i.e., the C/N ratio of the residue) and with the design for water circulation flow. Although the findings are promising, further research is needed to achieve reductions in all studied parameters.
