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Assessment of an arid region soil capacity on natural attenuation of municipal treated wastewater: a column experiment using soil of Varamin area, Iran

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Abstract

Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) is an effective indirect technique for wastewater reuse. The present study aims at assessing the soil capacity in arid region of Varamin on natural attenuation of inorganic constituents of municipal treated wastewater of Tehran City. In order to simulate SAT pond, four columns of 30 cm in height and 4 cm in diameter were filled with sandy loam soil taken from artificial recharge pond in Varamin plain. These columns were recharged by secondary treated wastewater from Shahre-Rey treatment plant under the plan of 12-h wetting and drying cycles. During the experiment, 50 pore volume passed through each column. The pH, EC, TDS, SAL, SAR, major ions, nitrate, phosphate and trace elements were measured in influent and effluent samples. The concentration of Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl− and SO42− increased in effluent samples due to a washout process and dissolution of minerals. The soil could only attenuate NO3−, K+, Rb and PO43− with the percentage of 18.4, 24.6, 67.7 and 83.6, respectively. The soil of studied area is rich in Cr, Ni, Sr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ba and Rb. The concentrations of all mentioned trace elements, with the exception of Rb, have increased in the effluent samples with respect to influent. Also, the quality indices of TDS, SAL and SAR have increased 10.6, 25.2 and 8.7%, respectively, in effluent. Soil column samples, at the end of experiment, contain high amounts of major and trace elements. Consequently, there is a potential risk for groundwater contamination in long-term recharge.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Kharazmi University for the financial support which helped to carry out this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Geology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Kharazmi University, P.O. Box 31979-37551, Tehran, Iran

    Nina Mahmoudi & Mohammad Nakhaei

  2. Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, P.O. Box 13445-1136, Tehran, Iran

    Jahangir Porhemmat

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  1. Nina Mahmoudi
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  2. Mohammad Nakhaei
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Correspondence to Nina Mahmoudi.

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Mahmoudi, N., Nakhaei, M. & Porhemmat, J. Assessment of an arid region soil capacity on natural attenuation of municipal treated wastewater: a column experiment using soil of Varamin area, Iran. Environ Earth Sci 77, 140 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7292-y

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