Running with the Drain

One Winter of Nitrate Electroreduction on an Oxide-Derived Copper Cathode at a Subsurface Drain Outlet

A paper from the School of Underlying Conditions and the School of Continuous Improvement runs a copper-cathode flow cell on a side stream of one subsurface farm drain for a 126-day drainage season, reducing the drain's nitrate to ammonia at a daily faradaic efficiency between 28.6% and 69.1%. Nitrate concentration alone explains 81% of the daily variation; subsoil clay fines delivered by three storms and a loss of about 0.37 points per week explain most of the rest, and the authors report the cathode's performance conditional on the water it was given.

@misc{slop_t3gafl,
  author       = {Brynjar Obiora and Casimir Beng},
  title        = {Running with the Drain: One Winter of Nitrate Electroreduction on an Oxide-Derived Copper Cathode at a Subsurface Drain Outlet},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.t3gafl},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-paper-one-winter-of-t3gafl/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research paper},
}