Quantifying Biological Organic Carbon Removal in Groundwater Recharge Systems
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 6
Abstract
This paper presents a novel approach to study and predict the removal of organic carbon in groundwater recharge systems by combining microbial community description with advanced methods for organic carbon characterization. Soil microbial biomass was characterized using three methods: dehydrogenase activity (general heterotrophic activity), substrate induced respiration (rapid mineralization potential), and phospholipid extraction (total viable biomass). These methods proved to be sensitive, robust, and relatively simple in their application for soils of various groundwater recharge sites. Findings indicated that microbial biomass was positively correlated to the organic carbon removal capacity of different laboratory-scale test systems. Organic carbon seems to be a limiting factor for biomass growth in recharge systems. Organic carbon removal rates are increased by higher initial organic carbon concentrations. The removal of three organic carbon fractions (natural organic matter, effluent organic matter, and glucose and glutamic acid) in soil column studies followed a first-order kinetic with distinctly different rate constants and correlated positively with respective total viable biomass in the column systems. These results supported the assumption that during groundwater recharge organic carbon is preferably removed by biological processes. The transformation of organic carbon fractions during travel through the subsurface became apparent in size-exclusion chromatograms indicating a shift to smaller molecular weight. The presented approach showed promise to reveal new insights into removal mechanisms of organic carbon and to serve as a tool to predict organic carbon removal in groundwater recharge systems to improve design and operation of vadose zone treatment.
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Acknowledgments
Principal funding for this project was provided by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Denver, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water, Washington, D.C. The funding agencies assume no responsibility for the content of the research reported in this publication or for the opinions or statements of fact expressed in this study. The writers thank Joseph Mitterwallner for conducting part of the batch reactor studies and Professor Gary Amy and his research group at the University of Colorado at Boulder for supporting the SEC analysis.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 6 • June 2005
Pages: 909 - 923
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© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 28, 2003
Accepted: Oct 27, 2004
Published online: Jun 1, 2005
Published in print: Jun 2005
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