Removal of emerging organic contaminants in a subsurface wastewater infiltration system: A preliminary study of microbial mechanism

IF 11.4 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Water Research Pub Date : 2025-06-04 DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2025.123960

Feng-Jiao Peng , Xing-Jun Feng , Sen Li , Xiao-Long Yu , Jun Chen , Shuang-Shuang Liu , Guang-Guo Ying , You-Sheng Liu

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Abstract

Subsurface wastewater infiltration systems (SWISs) have been widely used for rural decentralized wastewater treatment, but their performance in removing emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) from wastewater remains unclear. We investigated EOC removal and related microbial mechanism in an intermittently aerated SWIS operated at a hydraulic loading rate of 0.5 m³/m²/day under field conditions. Among the 89 analyzed EOCs covering a wide range of different physicochemical properties, seven biocides, five antibiotics, two other pharmaceutics and three herbicides were detected in the real domestic wastewater fed into the system, with concentrations ranging from 7.80 ng/L for lincomycin to 14809 ng/L for bentazone. All detected EOCs were effectively removed in the SWIS with removal efficiencies ≥ 74.5%, except that diethyltoluamide and sulfamonomethoxine were moderately removed (31.9% and 58.8%, respectively). Meanwhile, removal efficiencies ≥ 81.1% were observed for conventional pollutants, including chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon and ammonium. The pollutant removal was mainly attributed to microbial degradation due to lack of plants, photodegradation and sorption of most detected compounds in the system. This was corroborated by the abundance of microbial communities in the SWIS substrate and their positive correlations with pollutant removal rates, such as Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes and Bacteroidetes at the phylum level and Ottowia, Defluviicoccus, Bradyrhizobium, Thiobacillus, Rudaea, Methylocystis, Reyranella, Parvibaculum and Parasegetibacter at the genus level. Therefore, this work supports SWIS as a promising technology for treating decentralized domestic wastewater containing EOCs in addition to conventional pollutants, and underscores the pivotal role of microorganisms in pollutant removal in SWISs.

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去除地下污水渗透系统中新出现的有机污染物：微生物机制的初步研究

地下污水渗透系统（SWISs）已广泛用于农村分散式污水处理，但其去除废水中新出现的有机污染物（EOCs）的性能尚不清楚。在野外条件下，以0.5 m3/m2/天的水力加载速率运行间歇曝气SWIS，研究了EOC的去除和相关微生物机制。在89种不同理化性质的EOCs中，在系统实际生活废水中检测到7种杀菌剂、5种抗生素、2种其他药物和3种除草剂，浓度范围从7.80 ng/L的林可霉素到14809 ng/L的苯并酮。除二乙基甲苯酰胺和磺胺甲氧基甲氧嘧啶的去除率中等（分别为31.9%和58.8%）外，SWIS中检测到的EOCs均被有效去除，去除率均≥74.5%。对化学需氧量、总有机碳、铵等常规污染物的去除率≥81.1%。由于缺乏植物，微生物降解、光降解和系统中大多数检测到的化合物的吸附是污染物去除的主要原因。SWIS底物中微生物群落的丰度及其与污染物去除率的正相关证实了这一点，如门水平的变形菌门、plantomycetes和Bacteroidetes，属水平的Ottowia、Defluviicoccus、Bradyrhizobium、Thiobacillus、Rudaea、Methylocystis、Reyranella、Parvibaculum和Parasegetibacter。因此，这项工作支持SWIS作为一种有前途的技术，用于处理除常规污染物外还含有EOCs的分散式生活废水，并强调了微生物在瑞士污染物去除中的关键作用。

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来源期刊

Water Research 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

20.80

自引率

9.40%

发文量

1307

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Water Research, along with its open access companion journal Water Research X, serves as a platform for publishing original research papers covering various aspects of the science and technology related to the anthropogenic water cycle, water quality, and its management worldwide. The audience targeted by the journal comprises biologists, chemical engineers, chemists, civil engineers, environmental engineers, limnologists, and microbiologists. The scope of the journal include: •Treatment processes for water and wastewaters (municipal, agricultural, industrial, and on-site treatment), including resource recovery and residuals management; •Urban hydrology including sewer systems, stormwater management, and green infrastructure; •Drinking water treatment and distribution; •Potable and non-potable water reuse; •Sanitation, public health, and risk assessment; •Anaerobic digestion, solid and hazardous waste management, including source characterization and the effects and control of leachates and gaseous emissions; •Contaminants (chemical, microbial, anthropogenic particles such as nanoparticles or microplastics) and related water quality sensing, monitoring, fate, and assessment; •Anthropogenic impacts on inland, tidal, coastal and urban waters, focusing on surface and ground waters, and point and non-point sources of pollution; •Environmental restoration, linked to surface water, groundwater and groundwater remediation; •Analysis of the interfaces between sediments and water, and between water and atmosphere, focusing specifically on anthropogenic impacts; •Mathematical modelling, systems analysis, machine learning, and beneficial use of big data related to the anthropogenic water cycle; •Socio-economic, policy, and regulations studies.