Nitrate contamination in UK agricultural watercourses remains a major issue, but existing monitoring methods are often too costly for farm-scale use. This project introduces NitroGauge, a £190 manometric nitrate monitor, alongside BioFix, a biochar-based remediation column. Tested across three sites over sixteen visits, NitroGauge identified rainfall-lag patterns suggesting different subsurface flow pathways. BioFix improved through successive designs, with removal increasing from 12.5–36.5% using raw biochar to 63.5–66.5% with FeCl₃ modification and 81.2–84.0% using a two-zone biological system. The prototype costs over 99% less than commercial sensors, and future designs will enable autonomous deployment. Findings remain preliminary due to the limited sample size.
Documentation
Nitrate contamination in UK agricultural watercourses remains a major issue, but existing monitoring methods are often too costly for farm-scale use. This project introduces NitroGauge, a £190 manometric nitrate monitor, alongside BioFix, a biochar-based remediation column. Tested across three sites over sixteen visits, NitroGauge identified rainfall-lag patterns suggesting different subsurface flow pathways. BioFix improved through successive designs, with removal increasing from 12.5–36.5% using raw biochar to 63.5–66.5% with FeCl₃ modification and 81.2–84.0% using a two-zone biological system. The prototype costs over 99% less than commercial sensors, and future designs will enable autonomous deployment. Findings remain preliminary due to the limited sample size.
Hydrological Nitrate Response Monitoring with Integrated Biochar Remediation Assessment
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