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Ghane Dissertation.pdf (18.89 MB)

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Evaluation of two technologies for enhancement of crop yield and drainage water quality

Ghane, Ehsan
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1406114668

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
Denitrification beds are being promoted to reduce nitrate concentrations in agricultural drainage water to alleviate the adverse environmental effects associated with nitrate pollution in surface water. Knowledge of the water flow regime (i.e., Darcy or non-Darcy) and nitrate removal kinetics in denitrification beds is of great importance for design and modeling. Controlled drainage is an integral component of denitrification beds in the Midwest, USA that may also provide crop yield benefit. Before denitrification beds are widely promoted as a means to remove nitrate, the impact of its controlled drainage component on crop yield is needed to be fully evaluated because of the farmer’s primary interest in crop yield. The main objectives of this study were to (1) assess crop yield performance of controlled drainage, (2) evaluate the water flow regime in woodchips, and (3) model a denitrification bed treating drainage water. To accomplish these objectives, a combination of field and laboratory experiments were conducted. Results of the mixed model crop yield analysis indicated that controlled drainage provided crop yield advantage across different environments in northwest Ohio which would add an incentive for adoption of denitrification beds. Laboratory woodchip permeability tests revealed that Darcy’s law does not apply for the majority of the hydraulic gradients forcing flow through woodchip media. However, Forchheimer’s equation described the flow pattern sufficiently using a quadratic equation. In-situ denitrification bed experiments indicated that nitrate removal rate was best described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics with the constant (K_M) of 7.2 mg N L-1. Employing the governing Forchheimer’s equation and Michaelis-Menten kinetics, a novel deterministic model of a denitrification bed was developed. The model evaluation statistics indicated good agreement of the predicted and measured bed outflow nitrate concentrations under subsurface drainage flow conditions. In conclusion, this model can be used to design efficient nitrate removal denitrification beds which in turn will lead to enhanced drainage water quality.
Larry Brown (Advisor)
Fausey Norman (Committee Member)
Ward Andrew (Committee Member)
123 p.
Agricultural Engineering

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Citations

  • Ghane, E. (2014). Evaluation of two technologies for enhancement of crop yield and drainage water quality [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1406114668

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ghane, Ehsan. Evaluation of two technologies for enhancement of crop yield and drainage water quality. 2014. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1406114668.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ghane, Ehsan. "Evaluation of two technologies for enhancement of crop yield and drainage water quality." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1406114668

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1406114668
235
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.