The effect of feed water dissolved organic carbon concentration and composition on organic micropollutant removal and microbial diversity in soil columns simulating river bank filtration

C Bertelkamp, JP van der Hoek, K Schoutteten, L Hulpiau, L Vanhaecke, J Vanden Bussche, AJ Cabo, C Callewaert, N Boon, J Lowenberg, N Singhal, ARD Verliefde

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

29 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated organic micropollutant (OMP) biodegradation rates in laboratory-scale soil columns simulating river bank filtration (RBF) processes. The dosed OMP mixture consisted of 11 pharmaceuticals, 6 herbicides, 2 insecticides and 1 solvent. Columns were filled with soil from a RBF site and were fed with four different organic carbon fractions (hydrophilic, hydrophobic, transphilic and river water organic matter (RWOM)). Additionally, the effect of a short-term OMP/dissolved organic carbon (DOC) shock-load (e.g. quadrupling the OMP concentrations and doubling the DOC concentration) on OMP biodegradation rates was investigated to assess the resilience of RBF systems. The results obtained in this study imply that – in contrast to what is observed for managed aquifer recharge systems operating on wastewater effluent - OMP biodegradation rates are not affected by the type of organic carbon fraction fed to the soil column, in case of stable operation. No effect of a short-term DOC shock-load on OMP biodegradation rates between the different organic carbon fractions was observed. This means that the RBF site simulated in this study is resilient towards transient higher DOC concentrations in the river water. However, a temporary OMP shock-load affected OMP biodegradation rates observed for the columns fed with the river water organic matter (RWOM) and the hydrophilic fraction of the river water organic matter. These different biodegradation rates did not correlate with any of the parameters investigated in this study (cellular adenosine triphosphate (cATP), DOC removal, specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA), richness/evenness of the soil microbial population or OMP category (hydrophobicity/charge).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)932-939
Number of pages8
JournalChemosphere
Volume144
Issue numberFebruary
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • River bank filtration
  • Organic micropollutant
  • Biodegradation
  • Organic carbon fractions
  • Microbial community composition

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The effect of feed water dissolved organic carbon concentration and composition on organic micropollutant removal and microbial diversity in soil columns simulating river bank filtration'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this