What is StormwaterBIOCHAR™?
It's more than just a company name. StormwaterBIOCHAR™ is a very specific biochar that we use in all our blends. It's been tested and proven for metal removal from real stormwater taken off various industrial sites. We take raw biochar and process it to make it ready for stormwater treatment.
Metal removal by biochar is highly variable, depending on a number of factors, including the ionic radius of the metal, temperature at which biochar is produced, and pH. That is the difference between biochar and StormwaterBIOCHAR™. The biochar we use is tested and proven for metal removal.
StormwaterBIOCHAR™ is a natural filter media that has been in continuous use since 2009 and sold since 2010. It's reliable, tested, affordable and most important it works!
StormwaterBIOCHAR™ biochar has a very green story. The byproduct of making lumber is burned to make power (Reduce). The carbon is pulled from the ashes of making the power. We then washed the biochar, utilizing the large particles to create our stormwater filter medias (Reuse). The wash water with super fines is used in the making of better compost and our soil blends (Reuse). After using the biochar for removal of heavy metals, it can then be used to put carbon back into the soil (Recycle).
With the right biochar and the right blend, the results are affordable and nontoxic.
Safety Data Sheet - StormwaterBIOCHAR™
from a Lumber Mill | Roadway & Metal Roof Runoff | DIY Baffle Box | 1 CY of media
3/13/18:
80% of COD | 177 mg/L to 35 mg/L
77% of Copper | 12.6 µg/L to 2.87 µg/L
65% of Zinc | 355 µg/L to 123 µg/L
from a Shingle Roof Manufacturer | Primarily Metal Roof Runoff | Pure Rain™ Passive Stormwater Filtration System | 1 CY of media
3/22/18 Box 1:
99.9% of Copper | 13,400 µg/L to 14.5 µg/L
99.8% of Iron | 152,000 µg/L to 251 µg/L
99% of Lead | 18.4 µg/L to 0.207 µg/L
99.5% of Zinc | 2120 µg/L to 9.9 µg/L
3/8/18 Box 2:
86% of Copper | 2260 µg/L to 311 µg/L
80% of Iron | 16,100 µg/L to 3280 µg/L
25% of Lead | 2.88 µg/L to 2.16 µg/L
25% of Zinc | 314 µg/L to 236 µg/L
What is StormwaterSHALE™?
StormwaterSHALE™ is a rotary kiln-produced expanded shale, clay and slate lightweight aggregate or often called Activated Ceramic. It is used for many reasons, but research and actual onsite results have proven why we blend it with our StormwaterBIOCHAR™.
StormwaterSHALE™ filtration media has up to 100 times the specific surface area than ordinary filtration sand and gravel. This advantage combined with StormwaterSHALE™ lower density and excellent durability offer superior performance, increased volume flows and reductions in clogging or blinding over standard silica, granite or quartz granular media. StormwaterSHALE™ is manufactured throughout the United States and is a reliable, economical solution for water filtration in applications where sands and gravels are used. StormwaterSHALE™ is often the best choice in a variety of filter media applications, from storm water runoff to industrial wastewater filtration.
StormwaterSHALE™ excellent performance as a filtration media stems from its unique physical properties that are created during the vitrification process, all of which assure a strong stable media. They are:
• Increased surface area
• Deeper bed aeration
• Increased permeability
• Reduced weight
• Lower particle specific gravity
• Higher angle of internal friction
• Inert, Non-toxic
• Non-degradable
| Date of Test | Pollutant Tested | PRE Treatment | Unit of Measure | POST Treatment | Unit of Measure | Decrease | % Change | 24 hr. Rain Event at Test | Amount of Media |
| 5/10/18 | Copper | 54 | µg/L | 41 | µg/L | Yes | 24.1% | 0.08" | 1/8 CY |
| 5/10/18 | Iron | 200 | µg/L | 130 | µg/L | Yes | 35.0% | 0.08" | 1/8 CY |
| 5/10/18 | Lead | 0.2 | µg/L | 0.15 | µg/L | Yes | 25.0% | 0.08" | 1/8 CY |
| 5/10/18 | Manganese | 15 | µg/L | 13 | µg/L | Yes | 13.3% | 0.08" | 1/8 CY |
| 5/10/18 | Zinc | 37 | µg/L | 10 | µg/L | Yes | 73.0% | 0.08" | 1/8 CY |
| 5/10/18 | Phosphorus | 140 | µg/L | 120 | µg/L | Yes | 14.3% | 0.08" | 1/8 CY |
What is StormwaterZEOLITE™?
StormwaterZEOLITE™ is a high grade natural clinoptilolite zeolite, direct from our mine in the USA.
StormwaterZEOLITE™ is 85 to 95% pure natural clinoptilolite zeolite and contains:
| · Approximately 3.5% potassium, a plant nutrient
· Approximately 2.02% calcium, a pH buffer for animals and soils · Less than 0.5% non-water soluble sodium, a toxin to plants · No significant concentrations of water soluble toxic trace elements · Low clay content, making it hard and resistant to attrition · High CEC (cation exchange capacity) that allows loading of approximately 2.2% nitrogen · A large surface area of approximately 24.9 square meters per gram |
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StormwaterZEOLITE™ has a high cation-exchange capacity and can be effective in the reduction of ammonium, heavy metals, light metals, sodium and radioactive isotopes, oils and hydrocarbons in stormwater.
StormwaterZEOLITE™ (Clinoptilolite) lattices are negatively charged and loosely hold cations such as calcium, sodium, ammonium, and potassium. The lattice cavities hold up to 55% by weight in water.
The ability of StormwaterZEOLITE™ to exchange one cation for another is known as cation-exchange capacity or CEC. StormwaterZEOLITE™ can release beneficial elements while capturing and binding undesirable elements and compounds.
Adsorption: Ammonium and other cations are held in the negatively charged lattice through CEC (cation exchange capacity) and are not water soluble.
Absorption: StormwaterZEOLITE™ can hold up to 55% of its weight in water in its channel-ways making it an excellent desiccant. Atoms, molecules or ions are more loosely held in the channel-ways and are water soluble.
StormwaterZEOLITE™ will absorb nitrogen from stormwater*.
As StormwaterZEOLITE™ becomes loaded with nitrogen the algae will feed on it, clearing up the water. When the water becomes too green with algae, replace with new StormwaterZEOLITE™.
Alternatively, the StormwaterZEOLITE™ can be regenerated by washing off the algae and soaking the StormwaterZEOLITE™ in a 3% salt solution (5 tablespoons of salt per quart of water) for one hour and rinse with fresh water.
*Stormwater is defined as fresh water / run off from rain, may not work with water from the ocean (sea salt in water).
Also available in ZEOLITESAND™, a course sand size StormwaterZEOLITE™ (-14+40 mesh).
What is StormwaterPEAT™?
StormwaterPEAT™ is an environmentally harvested peat.
First, StormwaterPEAT™ is manufactured from a real peat. There is certainly an environmental impact of harvesting peat, but the peat that we process then goes on to have a different kind of environmental impact. A positive one. Our StormwaterPEAT™ is removing heavy metals from stormwater so that it can be released and reused. There are a lot of different products for water remediation. Some are mined, like zeolite and greensand. Some are made from petroleum, like ion exchange resins. Some are more "green", like biochar and wood chips. StormwaterPEAT™ is somewhere in the middle of that. StormwaterPEAT™ is a very slowly renewing resource. The best use for this type of resource is in high value applications such as maintaining clean water.
Second, one important factor to keep in mind is that as they harvest the StormwaterPEAT™ and then leave behind an area, they reclaim that area to a peat-producing wetland that has significant ecological value. They establish native plants and create habitat for all sorts of vertebrates and invertebrates. They operate under strict regulatory controls that dictate how a peatland needs to be reclaimed. At the end of the day, they are removing peat from a wetland, but they are leaving behind a different kind of aquatic system. They're not paving the wetland to make a parking lot.
Third, the peat comes from a part of the United States where peatlands are ubiquitous. Which means that there is far more peat accumulating every year than they are harvesting.
And then last, and this is kind of related to the first point, they are not harvesting peat for horticultural or landscape applications. The bulk of peat harvested every year in this country goes into potting soil or soil mixes. Those are perfectly acceptable uses, but peat could be replaced in those situations by things like compost. We believe StormwaterPEAT™ is the best secondary item to blend with our StormwaterBIOCHAR™, StormwaterSHALE™ and StormwaterZEOLITE™ to give the best life and results in a natural blend.
