Fate of Endocrine-Disrupting and Pharmaceutically Active Substances in Sand Columns Fed with Secondary Effluent
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 10
Abstract
Sorption and biotransformation of six endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) [estrone (E1), -estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), -ethynylestradiol (EE2), 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP), and bisphenol A (BPA)] and two pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) [ibuprofen (IBU) and naproxen (NAP)] were studied in microcosms and columns under conditions that simulate the percolation of effluent through sandy soil on reclaimed land in Singapore. Sorption isotherms followed a linear model, except for IBU and BPA, for which a Freundlich model was used, and for NAP, which sorbed too little to be measurable. Degradation experiment results showed that aerobic conditions were more favorable for the degradation of EDCs than anaerobic or anoxic conditions. E3 and 4-t-OP were totally removed within 40 days, whereas EE2, BPA, IBU, and NAP were persistent. However, under anaerobic conditions, E1 was formed from E2 and vice versa, reaching steady-state conditions after approximately 15 days. To simulate the groundwater (GW) recharge condition, eight laboratory-scale soil aquifer treatment (SAT)–saturated sand columns (each with a length of 1.0 m) were operated in series. Secondary effluent (SE) and ultrafiltered effluent augmented with the target compounds was applied to two identical sets of eight columns, respectively. With secondary effluent and ultrafiltered SE as the feed, the target compounds were completely removed after 8 m of infiltration, with the exception of NAP, which persisted at in the effluent of recharged columns after an operating time of 3 pore volumes (PV). The higher removal rate in SE recharged columns is attributed to the higher nutrient content, microbial populations, and a longer period of acclimatization. Small-scale batch studies showed that E2, EE2, IBU, and NAP removal was primarily a result of biological transformation that was faster under aerobic than anaerobic conditions.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank San San Chow, Chenqi Hu, and Yue-hua Chen for their assistance in the chemical measurements. Funding support from the Agency for Science and Technology (ASTAR), Singapore, and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 10 • October 2012
Pages: 1067 - 1076
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 27, 2011
Accepted: Feb 27, 2012
Published online: Mar 1, 2012
Published in print: Oct 1, 2012
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