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Behavior of nine selected emerging trace organic contaminants in an artificial recharge system supplemented with a reactive barrier

  • 14th EuCheMS International Conference on Chemistry and the Environment (ICCE 2013, Barcelona, June 25 - 28, 2013)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Artificial recharge improves several water quality parameters, but has only minor effects on recalcitrant pollutants. To improve the removal of these pollutants, we added a reactive barrier at the bottom of an infiltration basin. This barrier contained aquifer sand, vegetable compost, and clay and was covered with iron oxide dust. The goal of the compost was to sorb neutral compounds and release dissolved organic carbon. The release of dissolved organic carbon should generate a broad range of redox conditions to promote the transformation of emerging trace organic contaminants (EOCs). Iron oxides and clay increase the range of sorption site types. In the present study, we examined the effectiveness of this barrier by analyzing the fate of nine EOCs. Water quality was monitored before and after constructing the reactive barrier. Installation of the reactive barrier led to nitrate-, iron-, and manganese-reducing conditions in the unsaturated zone below the basin and within the first few meters of the saturated zone. Thus, the behavior of most EOCs changed after installing the reactive barrier. The reactive barrier enhanced the removal of some EOCs, either markedly (sulfamethoxazole, caffeine, benzoylecgonine) or slightly (trimethoprim) and decreased the removal rates of compounds that are easily degradable under aerobic conditions (ibuprofen, paracetamol). The barrier had no remarkable effect on 1H-benzotriazole and tolyltriazole.

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Acknowledgments

A significant part of the work has been supported by the ENSAT project (“Enhancement of soil aquifer treatment to improve the quality of recharge water in the Llobregat delta river aquifer”) funded by the LIFE Program of the European Commission (ENV/1225 E/117). The presented study was partly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the funding program Sustainable Water Management NaWaM-RiSKWa (promotional reference no. 02WRS1277A, AGRO, “Risikomanagement von Spurenstoffen und Krankheitserregern in ländlichen Karsteinzugsgebieten,” which is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GHS Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Cristina Valhondo, Jesús Carrera, Carlos Ayora & Manuela Barbieri

  2. Department of the Applied Geology, Geoscience Center of the University of GŁottingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 3, 37007, GŁottingen, Germany

    Karsten Nödler & Tobias Licha

  3. Laboratori Area Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB), C/62, 16-18, 08040, Barcelona, Spain

    Maria Huerta

Authors
  1. Cristina Valhondo
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  2. Jesús Carrera
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  3. Carlos Ayora
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  4. Manuela Barbieri
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  5. Karsten Nödler
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  6. Tobias Licha
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  7. Maria Huerta
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Correspondence to Cristina Valhondo.

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Responsible editor: Ester Heath

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Valhondo, C., Carrera, J., Ayora, C. et al. Behavior of nine selected emerging trace organic contaminants in an artificial recharge system supplemented with a reactive barrier. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 11832–11843 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2834-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2834-7

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