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Atmospheric nitrogen loss factor (f) used in determining nitrogen-based municipal wastewater effluent irrigation rates: design and nitrogen-balance estimated f values

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Abstract

Design irrigation rates for treated municipal wastewater effluent (MWE) are usually determined from nitrogen (N) mass-balances, in which the fraction (f) of the total N in the MWE that is lost to the atmosphere is commonly obtained from US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) tabulated (design) values: 0.15–0.25 for secondary-treated effluents and 0.1 for tertiary-treated effluents. In 2011 and 2012, f values from an N balance in a tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) hay field in Central Pennsylvania were quantified and compared to the USEPA design f values. The grass field was spray-irrigated with MWE (C:N ratio = 0.04–0.2; near neutral pH, and 70–87% of the MWE-TN was NO3–N) at a rate of ≤5-cm wk−1. Monthly N balances were calculated from April to September in the surface horizon of a Hagerstown soil. The f values of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 seemed appropriate for the months of May and June, August and September, and July, respectively. Positive fnb estimates and the logarithm of measured monthly N removal in the aboveground biomass (kg ha−1) were negatively correlated (R2 = 0.99 for monthly mean air temperatures ≥20 °C and R2 = 0.2 for monthly mean air temperatures <20 °C). The study’s results suggest that existing design f values are likely less applicable especially due to the biological N-removal processes currently present in many wastewater treatment plants needing to meet effluent N limits. Thus, more studies to determine empirical f values in effluent irrigation are needed to refine design f values.

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Abbreviations

MWE:

Municipal wastewater effluent

MWE-TN:

Municipal wastewater effluent total nitrogen

AGB:

Aboveground biomass

LF:

Living filter

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Acknowledgements

The authors express deep appreciation to the staff at the Penn State Living Filter, Penn State University (PSU) Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory (AASL), the water Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (PSIEE), Faculty in the Departments of Ecosystem Science and Management Department and Plant Science, and colleagues in Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering for their contributions to the study. James Loughran assisted with field management. Dr. Malcom Taylor assisted with establishment of study site and Tyler Hill with sample collection. Paulyanna Stecko and Karol Confer for laboratory analyses at the PSU AASL and PSIEE water laboratory, respectively. Dr. Henry Lin assisted with rainfall data, Dr. Armen R. Kemanian assisted with modeling reference crop evapotranspiration. The authors are also very grateful to the Pennsylvania State University Office of Physical Plant for funding the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Stella Maris Sendagi & Herschel A. Elliott

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  1. Stella Maris Sendagi
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  2. Herschel A. Elliott
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Correspondence to Stella Maris Sendagi.

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Sendagi, S.M., Elliott, H.A. Atmospheric nitrogen loss factor (f) used in determining nitrogen-based municipal wastewater effluent irrigation rates: design and nitrogen-balance estimated f values. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 109, 181–191 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-017-9878-2

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