Removing Nitrate from Agricultural Tile Water with Anion Exchange Resin.

The presence of nitrate (NO3) in tile water is one of the major environmental challenges facing Midwestern agriculture. This project evaluated the feasibility of using industrial anion exchange resin to remove NO3 from tile water. Results showed that resins were effective in capturing about 46 percent of the nitrate in tile water over a 50 day period. Other testing included laboratory leaching of 100 mg L-1 NO3 solution through a 50 mL resin column. The results showed retention of 13.3 g of NO3 per kilogram of the resin. Breakthrough curve showed the center of the mass appearing at 310 pore volume with a partitioning coefficient of 141; a nearly instantaneous retention. In 2016, field testing of the resin was undertaken with tile water from a hog manure applied corn field. In this presentation, we will present results of the above testing and the challenges one faces in the use of anion resin under agricultural settings. We will also show the effectiveness of horizontal compared to vertical resin beds in remediating tile water.