No abstract

River biofilms are dominant riverine biota with diverse microorganisms. They have been found to contribute greatly to river self-purification for removal of nutrients and organic matter. This study intended to investigate the ability of naturally occurring river biofilms with changing seasons for the removal of the organophosphorus pesticide diazinon. Natural river biofilms from spring showed higher ability to remove diazinon (99.9% removal) than those from winter (77%) with light exposure. In contrast to control sets without biofilms under irradiation, 27% of diazinon removal in spring and 22% in winter may result from microbial activity within biofilms. Removal of diazinon by river biofilms could be attributed mostly to degradation due to low sorption capacity of biofilms. Spring biofilms had higher dissipation rates (0.265 and 0.486 d À1 for biofilms with different growth periods) than winter ones (0.099 and 0.119 d À1 ) according to first order model. Higher ability of diazinon removal by spring biofilms may be explained by their higher bacterial and algal biomass comparing to winter biofilms. Naturally occurring river biofilms played a significant role in degradation of diazinon, particularly for those grown in spring. Their potential for use in the treatment of diazinon-contaminated water has been demonstrated.