Modelling and Testing PRB Filters as Drainage to Remove and Reduce Nitrates in Drainage Water From the Agricultural Sector

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the design and evaluation of permeable reactive barrier (PRB) filters for the purpose of mitigating nitrate levels in agricultural drainage water. SEEP/W and CTRAN/W software models were used to simulate the one‐dimensional movement of dissolved nitrate pollutants within the porous medium of the drainage filter. The research comprehensively models and examines nitrate transport within the filter, considering the saturation of the soil column with a constant pollutant load from the initiation to the completion of the nitrate breakthrough curve, which is an absorption process. The results indicate that the software provides a robust approximation of the pollutant movement process within the drainage filter. However, the breakthrough curve derived from the software requires more time than laboratory experiments do to simulate pollutant transport in the filter environment. This study revealed nearly equal nitrate removal rates between the numerical and experimental models.