Passive Detection of Phosphorus in Agricultural Tile Waters Using Reactive Hybrid Anion Exchange Resins

oleh: Zhe Li, Maria Librada Chu, Lowell Gentry, Ying Li, Corey Mitchell, Yuji Arai

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-10-01

Deskripsi

Tile drainage waters carry considerable loads of phosphorus (P) from agricultural fields to rivers and streams in the Midwestern U.S. An innovative and economical approach to monitor dissolved reactive P (DRP) flux in tile waters is needed to understand the extent of P loss in field-scale. In this study, a passive sampling technique was developed using iron oxide-coated polyacrylic/polystyrene anion exchange resins (hybrid resins) a P sink. Laboratory batch adsorption isotherm and kinetic experiments indicated that the hybrid resins had high P adsorption capacity (7.69–19.84 mg/g) and high kinetic performance. The passive sampling method with field-calibrated hybrid polyacrylic resin and hybrid polystyrene resins (sampling rate: 0.1351 and 0.0763 L/h, respectively) predicted the average DRP concentrations of 0.006–0.020 mg/L, which did not differ significantly (<i>p</i> > 0.05) from the auto-sampling data. A rapid increase in DRP concentration during storm events and subsequent flooding events was also predicted well. In conclusion, a passive detection method using iron oxide coated hybrid resins can be recommended for monitoring seasonally fluctuating DRP flux in agricultural waters as long as the hybrid resins are well-calibrated under specific field conditions (e.g., flow rate and concentration range).