Journal article
The regenerative role of biofilm in the removal of pesticides from stormwater in biochar-amended biofilters
Environmental science water research & technology, Vol.8, pp.1092-1110
03/30/2022
DOI: 10.1039/d1ew00870f
Abstract
Low-impact, green infrastructure systems such as biofilters, particularly when amended with biochar, can help address chemical pollution conveyed via stormwater that is increasingly posing a threat to aquatic ecosystems and groundwater quality. Although removal of organic contaminants including pesticides by biochar-amended systems has been studied, the role of a biofouling layer on contaminant removal, biotransformation, and filter lifetime remains poorly understood. This study evaluated the removal of the pesticides atrazine, imidacloprid, and clothianidin in biologically active biochar-amended columns through complete exhaustion of contaminant removal capacity. The resultant data indicate that biological processes accounted for 20-36% of overall removal in the biochar-amended sand columns. In addition, a combined target and suspect screening approach using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QToF-MS) was employed to evaluate the potential transformation of these three pesticides and release of the transformation products (TPs). All TPs detected in the effluent remained below 2.5% of their respective parent influent concentrations for the duration of the experiment. Furthermore, at a biochar application rate of 0.5 wt%, the presence of an active biofilm prolonged the filter lifetime by 1.8-2.3 times compared to a fouled but inactive filter, where removal was presumably dominated by adsorption only. Scenario modelling estimates showed that biochar-amended biofilters could last at least 17 years before exceeding aquatic life threshold values at biochar-application rates as low as 1 wt% (5 vol%) in a representative case study. Results of this study provide novel insight on pesticide TP formation in biochar-amended biofilters and estimation of filter lifetimes.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The regenerative role of biofilm in the removal of pesticides from stormwater in biochar-amended biofilters
- Creators
- Andrea C Portmann - Colorado Sch Mines, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, Golden, CO 80401 USAGregory H LeFevreRennosuke Hankawa - Colorado Sch Mines, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, Golden, CO 80401 USADavid Werner - Newcastle Univ, Sch Engn, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, Tyne & Wear, EnglandChristopher P Higgins - Colorado Sch Mines, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, Golden, CO 80401 USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Environmental science water research & technology, Vol.8, pp.1092-1110
- Publisher
- Royal Soc Chemistry
- DOI
- 10.1039/d1ew00870f
- ISSN
- 2053-1400
- eISSN
- 2053-1419
- Number of pages
- 19
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000001, name: National Science Foundation, award: EEC1028968, 1844720
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 03/30/2022
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984240240802771
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