Seasonal dynamics modifies fate of oxygen, nitrate, and organic micropollutants during bank filtration — temperature-dependent reactive transport modeling of field data

Abstract

Bank filtration is considered to improve water quality through microbially mediated degradation of pollutants and is suitable for waterworks to increase their production. In particular, aquifer temperatures and oxygen supply have a great impact on many microbial processes. To investigate the temporal and spatial behavior of selected organic micropollutants during bank filtration in dependence of relevant biogeochemical conditions, we have set up a 2D reactive transport model using MODFLOW and PHT3D under the user interface ORTI3D. The considered 160-m-long transect ranges from the surface water to a groundwater extraction well of the adjacent waterworks. For this purpose, water levels, temperatures, and chemical parameters were regularly measured in the surface water and groundwater observation wells over one and a half years. To simulate the effect of seasonal temperature variations on microbial mediated degradation, we applied an empirical temperature factor, which yields a strong reduction of the degradation rate at groundwater temperatures below 11 °C. Except for acesulfame, the considered organic micropollutants are substantially degraded along their subsurface flow paths with maximum degradation rates in the range of 10−6 mol L−1 s−1. Preferential biodegradation of phenazone, diclofenac, and valsartan was found under oxic conditions, whereas carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole were degraded under anoxic conditions. This study highlights the influence of seasonal variations in oxygen supply and temperature on the fate of organic micropollutants in surface water infiltrating into an aquifer.

Influence of shallow geothermal energy on the behaviour of organic contaminants of emerging concern in urban aquifers

“…Concerning the transport BCs, concentrations of 1 × 10 −9 mol L −1 of phenazone and 2 mg L −1 of oxygen (O 2 ) are prescribed to the upgradient boundary and in the injection well. The concentration of phenazone is in the same range of magnitude than reported data in previous works (Barkow et al, 2021). In addition, the required concentration of phenazone in the whole domain is reached by implementing a constant input mass of phenazone of 8.4 × 10 −7 mg d −1 per square meter.…”

“…( 2) and ( 3) have been derived from bibliography and are presented in Table 2. A and E A are derived from Barkow et al (2021), and λ MAX and K PhenaO 2 from Greskowiak et al (2006).…”

“…This hypothesis is deduced from previous investigations in the context of river bank filtration and polluted aquifers by chlorinated organic compounds (COCs). On the one hand, investigations developed in the context of river bank filtration show that the seasonal variations of the river temperature modify the evolution of organic CECs in the aquifer (Barkow et al, 2021). On the other hand, groundwater temperature variations, induced by LEGE facilities, seem to improve the dichlorination capacity of aquifers polluted by industrial compounds (Hoekstra et al, 2020;Pellegrini et al, 2019).…”

Potential of low-enthalpy geothermal energy to degrade organic contaminants of emerging concern in urban groundwater

“…At the field scale, Munz et al 15 observed that the variation in the concentration of different OCECs, such as diclofenac, was mostly explained by the seasonal variations of temperature of the infiltrated water. The temperature dependence of OCECs has also been investigated numerically 38 , 39 . Greskowiak et al 38 studied the behaviour of phenazone in a water bank filtration scheme and demonstrated that the evolution of phenazone could only be explained by considering a temperature factor in the degradation.…”

Advancements in the dominion of fate and transport of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the environment- A Bibliometric study

“…The factors affecting the FTP can be determined using computational modeling by using Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship techniques and multimedia mass-balance models (Jagiello et al, 2015). To investigate the spatial and temporal behavior of PPCPs, many modeling software has been adopted, including MODFLOW and PHT3D, having ORTI3D as a user interface in the surface water (Barkow et al, 2021). Also, GREAT-ER (Geography-referenced Regional Exposure Assessment Tool for European Rivers) model and PhATE (Pharmaceutical Assessment and Transport Evaluation) model (spatial and temporal variability) are employed to predict the instream concentration of pharmaceuticals (Capdevielle et al, 2008).…”