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Removal of selected pesticides from groundwater by membrane distillation

  • Water: From Pollution to Purification
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Abstract

The removal of five selected pesticide compounds in a brackish model groundwater solution was examined using a bench scale direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system. It was found that the rejection rate of the pesticides in DCMD is mainly influenced by its properties. Compounds with low hydrophobic characteristics and low vapour pressure showed a high rejection rate (70–99%), whereas compounds with a high vapour pressure or high hydrophobicity (LogD) showed a reduced rejection (30–50%) at a water recovery of 75%. The influence of groundwater feed solution contents such as the presence of organics (humic acid) and inorganic ions (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl− and SO4 2−) as well as feed temperature (40, 55 and 70 °C) on the rejection of the pesticides in DCMD operation was also evaluated. The results showed that the presence of inorganic ions and organics in the feed solution influences the pesticides rejection in DCMD operation to a minor degree. In contrast, reduced rejection of pesticides with high vapour pressure was observed. A rapid small-scale column test (RSSCT) was carried out to study the removal of any remaining substances in the permeate by adsorption onto granular activated carbon (GAC). RSSCT showed promising performance of GAC as a post-treatment option.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the FP7 Project Water4India funded by the European Commission (GA No. 308496). Julia Plattner gratefully acknowledges the support by UTS through an International Research Scholarship (UTS IRS 165924). The experiment materials and analysis for this study were provided through the funding of CRC Care (4.1.12.11/12). We would also like to thank the Technologiezentrum Wasser (TZW) in Karlsruhe, in particular Dr. Frank Sacher, for the analytical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), P.O. Box 123, Broadway, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia

    Julia Plattner, Christian Kazner, Gayathri Naidu & Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran

  2. University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Institute for Ecopreneurship, Gründenstrasse 40, 4132, Muttenz, Switzerland

    Julia Plattner, Christian Kazner & Thomas Wintgens

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  1. Julia Plattner
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  2. Christian Kazner
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  3. Gayathri Naidu
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  5. Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran
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Correspondence to Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran.

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Responsible editor: Ester Heath

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Plattner, J., Kazner, C., Naidu, G. et al. Removal of selected pesticides from groundwater by membrane distillation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 20336–20347 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8929-1

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