Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sorption of selected pharmaceuticals and pesticides on different river sediments

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the present work, the sorption ability of 17 pharmaceutical compounds, two metabolites, and 15 pesticides (34 target compounds in total) onto four different river sediments was investigated separately. Selected compounds present the most frequently prescribed pharmaceuticals in human and animal medicine and the most frequently used pesticides in agriculture. Their presence into the surface, ground, and waste waters was confirmed into the numerous papers in literature, as well as their presence into the river sediments (for some of them). However, investigations of their sorption onto the river sediments, as major natural protection from potential pollution of ground water by them is missing. Sorption in this study was investigated onto river sediments taken from rivers in the Republic of Serbia, where only less than 10 % of total generated waste water passes through mainly basic treatment processes. Experiments were based on batch equilibrium procedures and obtained solutions were analyzed by previously developed and validated sensitive high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS) analytical methods. All results were modeled by Freundlich isotherms. Obtained results have shown that Kf coefficient values are in correlation with organic carbon content. Kd sorption coefficient values were relatively low and ranged in wide ranges for almost all compounds and sediments. That implicates on the conclusion that capacities of the investigated sorbents are not large for those compounds.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Beausse J (2004) Selected drugs in solid matrices: a review of environmental determination, occurrence and properties of principal substances. Trac-Trend Anal Chem 23:753–761

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bu Q, Wang B, Huang J, Deng S, Yu G (2013) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in aquatic environment in China: a review. J Hazard Mater 262:189–211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Calvet R (1989) Adsorption of organic chemicals in soil. Environ Health Perspect 83:145–177

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carballa M, Fink G, Omil F, Lema JM, Ternes T (2008) Determination of the solid–water distribution coefficient (Kd) for pharmaceuticals, estrogens and musk fragrances in digested sludge. Water Res 42:287–295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chiou CT, Kile DE (1998) Deviations from sorption linearity on soils of polar and nonpolar organic compounds at low relative concentrations. Environ Sci Technol 32:338–343

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daughton CA, Ternes TA (1999) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: agents of subtle change? Environ Health Persp 107:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delle Site A (2000) Factors affecting sorption of organic compounds in natural sorbent/water systems and sorption coefficients for selected pollutants: a review. J Phys Chem Ref Data 30(1):187–439

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz–Cruz MS, López de Alde MJ, Barceló D (2003) Environmental behavior and analysis of veterinary and human drugs in soil, sediments and sludge. Trac-Trend Anal Chem 22:340–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dimkić M, Pušić M (2014) Correlation between entrance velocities, increase in local hydraulic resistances and redox potential of alluvial groundwater sources. Water Research and Management 4:3–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Dimkić MA, Đurić D, Milovanović M, Laušević M, Jevtić G, Petković A (2011) Natural attenuation of emerging pharmaceuticals by bank filtration in addressing regional groundwater management issues. Water Research and Management 1:29–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Drillia P, Stamatelau K, Lyberatos G (2005) Fate and mobility of pharmaceuticals in solid matrices. Chemosphere 60:1034–1044

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Estevez E, Hernandez–Moreno JM, Fernandez–Vera JR, Palacios–Diaz MP (2014) Ibuprofen adsorption in four agricultural volcanic soils. Sci Total Environ 468–469:406–414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felsot A, Dahm PA (1979) Sorption of organophosphorous and carbamate insecticides by soil. Journal of Agricultural and Fool Chemistry 27:557–563

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giles CH, MacEwan TH, Nakhwa SN, Smith D (1960) Studies in adsorption. Part XI: a system of classification of solution adsorption isotherms and its use in diagnosis and adsorptive mechanism and measurements of specific surface area of solids. J Chem Soc 3:3973–3993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernández F, Ibáñez M, Sancho JV, Pozo ÓJ (2004) Comparison of different mass spectrometric techniques combined with liquid chromatography for confirmation of pesticides in environmental water based on the use of identification points. Anal Chem 76:4349–4357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hörsing M, Ledin A, Grabic R, Fick J, Tysklind M, La Cour Jansen J, Andersen HR (2011) Determination of sorption of seventy-five pharmaceuticals in sewage sludge. Water Res 45:4470–4482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jelić A, Gros M, Petrović M, Ginebreda A, Barceló D (2012) Occurance and elimination of pharmaceuticals during conventional wastewater treatment. In: Guasch H, Ginebreda A, Geiszinger A (eds) The handbook of environmental chemistry: emerging and priority pollutants in rivers, bringing science into river management plans. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones OAH, Voulvoulis N, Lester JN (2002) Aquatic environmental assessment of the top 25 English prescription pharmaceuticals. Water Res 36:5013–5022

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karickhoff SW (1981) Semi-empirical estimation of sorption of hydrophobic pollutants on natural sediment and soils. Chemosphere 10:833–846

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karickhoff SW, Brown DS, Scott TA (1979) Sorption of hydrophobic pollutants on natural sediments. Water Res 13:241–248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin K, Gan J (2011) Sorption and degradation of wastewater associated non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics in soils. Chemosphere 83:240–246

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Löffler D, Römbke J, Meller M, Ternes TA (2005) Environmental fate of pharmaceuticals in water/sediment systems. Environ Sci Technol 39:5209–5218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnusson M, Heimann K, Ridd M, Negri AP (2013) Pesticide contamination and phytotoxicity of sediment interstitial water to tropical benthic microalgae. Water Res 47:5211–5221

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meffe R, De Bustamante I (2014) Emerging organic contaminantsin surface water and groundwater: a first overview of the situation in Italy. Sci Total Environ 481:280–295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ong SK, Chotisukarn P (2012) Sorption of 17 α–methyltesrosterone onto soil and sediment. Water Air Soil Pollution 223:3869–3875

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Radović T, Grujić S, Petković A, Dimkić M, Laušević M (2015) Determination of pharmaceuticals and pesticides in river sediments and corresponding surface and ground water in the Danube River and tributaries in Serbia. Environ Monit Assess 187:4092. doi:10.1007/s10661-014-4092-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rieger PG, Meie HM, Gerleb M, Vogt U, Groth T, Knackmuss HJ (2002) Xenobiotics in the environment: present and future strategies to obviate the problem of biological persistence. J Biotechnol 94:101–123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Royal Society of Chemistry (2015) Chemical Compound Database. http://www.chemspider.com

  • Sanders SM, Srivastava P, Feng Y, Dane JH (2008) Sorption of the veterinary antimicrobials sulfadimethoxine and ormetoprim in soil. J Environ Qual 37:1510–1518

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer M, Boxberger N, Bömick H, Licha T, Worch E (2012) Sorption influenced transport of ionizable pharmaceuticals onto a natural sandy aquifer sediment at different pH. Chemosphere 87:513–520

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh N (2002) Sorption behavior of triazole fungicides in Indian soils and its correlation with soil properties. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 50:6434–6439

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sukul P, Lamshöft M, Zühlke S, Spiteller M (2008) Sorption and sulfadiazine in soil and soil–manure systems. Chemosphere 73:1344–1350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Togola A, Baran N, Coureau C (2014) Advantages of online SPE coupled with UPLC/MS/MS for determining the fate of pesticides and pharmaceutical compounds. Anal Bioanal Chem 406:1181–1191

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tomlin CDS (2002–2003) The e–Pesticide Manual 12th Edition Version 2.2. The British Crop Protection Council

  • U.S. National Library of Medicine (2015) Toxnet Toxicology Data Network. http://www.toxnet.nlm.nih.gov

  • Vallée R, Dousset S, Billet D (2014) Sorption of selected pesticides on soils, sediment and straw from a constructed agricultural drainage ditch or pond. Environ Sci Pollut R 21:4895–4905

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber JB, Wilkerson GG, Reinhardt CF (2004) Calculating pesticide sorption coefficients (K d) using selected soil properties. Chemosphere 55:157–166

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams M, Kookana R (2010) Isotopic exchangeability as a measure of the available fraction of the human pharmaceutical carbamazepine in river sediment. Sci Total Environ 408:3689–3695

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu J, Wu L, Chang AC (2009) Degradation and adsorption of selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in agricultural soils. Chemosphere 77:1299–1305

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (projects No. ON 172007, TR 37014).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, Belgrade, Serbia

    Tanja T. Radović, Svetlana D. Grujić & Mila D. Laušević

  2. Jaroslav Černi Institute for Water Resources, Jaroslava Černog 80, Belgrade, Serbia

    Milan A. Dimkić

  3. Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Srđan R. Kovačević & Milan A. Dimkić

Authors
  1. Tanja T. Radović
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Svetlana D. Grujić
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Srđan R. Kovačević
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mila D. Laušević
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Milan A. Dimkić
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tanja T. Radović.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Roland Kallenborn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Radović, T.T., Grujić, S.D., Kovačević, S.R. et al. Sorption of selected pharmaceuticals and pesticides on different river sediments. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 25232–25244 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7752-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7752-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation