Low impact development is an active area of research and, in particular, in the area of potentially transformative solutions for rainwater and stormwater capture and treatment for groundwater augmentation. This project is to explore innovative solutions of pervious concrete functioning as an effective reactive permeable barrier for stormwater treatment. Additionally, it is believed that incorporating waste fly ash containing high levels of carbon and sulfate into the pervious concrete will enhance the pollutant removal capabilities while providing a new application for these currently landfilled materials. These applications have not been previously investigated, even though the material properties and chemistry suggest a high potential for success. The EPA lists Missouri as the leading superfund site on the National Priority List because of the need for heavy metal treatment resulting from numerous operating and abandoned metal mines and refining operations. As an EPSCoR state, this research has the potential to expand the research activities of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, while benefitting the region. Heavy metal contamination adversely affects both human and environmental health due to their mobility and solubility within groundwater. This research could result in a fundamentally new methodology for treating stormwater while beneficially utilizing a near endless supply of low-cost, waste materials, fly ash. Cost estimates suggest that pervious concrete could be 4.5 to over 40 times cheaper than the current strategies. As an added benefit to treatment of the contaminated groundwater is the valorization and diversion of these waste materials from landfills. This project will provide research experiences for undergraduate students interested in pursuing graduate school.
The proposed research will investigate two novel concepts which have not yet been investigated and reported in the literature. First, pervious concrete has never been utilized as a reactive permeable barrier. Second, waste fly ash has not been used to enhance pollutant removal in conventional or pervious concrete, while the aqueous chemistry suggests a high degree of success for pervious concrete to remove dissolved heavy metals from stormwater. Jar tests will provide the initial removal ability to refine the mixture proportions for the development of breakthrough curves for determination of removal rates. Both scanning electron microscopy and X-ray florescence will be used to corroborate removal rates and identify where the pollutants are stored in the concrete matrix.
