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Seller C, Varga L, Börgardts E, Vogler B, Janssen E, Singer H, Fenner K, Honti M. Do biotransformation data from laboratory experiments reflect micropollutant degradation in a large river basin? WATER RESEARCH 2023; 235:119908. [PMID: 37003113 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Identifying a chemical's potential for biotransformation in the aquatic environment is crucial to predict its fate and manage its potential hazards. Due to the complexity of natural water bodies, especially river networks, biotransformation is often studied in laboratory experiments, assuming that study outcomes can be extrapolated to compound behavior in the field. Here, we investigated to what extent outcomes of laboratory simulation studies indeed reflect biotransformation kinetics observed in riverine systems. To determine in-field biotransformation, we measured loads of 27 wastewater treatment plant effluent-borne compounds along the Rhine and its major tributaries during two seasons. Up to 21 compounds were detected at each sampling location. Measured compound loads were used in an inverse model framework of the Rhine river basin to derive k'bio,field values - a compound-specific parameter describing the compounds' average biotransformation potential during the field studies. To support model calibration, we performed phototransformation and sorption experiments with all the study compounds, identifying 5 compounds that are susceptible towards direct phototransformation and determining Koc values covering four orders of magnitude. On the laboratory side, we used a similar inverse model framework to derive k'bio,lab values from water-sediment experiments run according to a modified OECD 308-type protocol. The comparison of k'bio,lab and k'bio,field revealed that their absolute values differed, pointing towards faster transformation in the Rhine river basin. Yet, we could demonstrate that relative rankings of biotransformation potential and groups of compounds with low, moderate and high persistence agree reasonably well between laboratory and field outcomes. Overall, our results provide evidence that laboratory-based biotransformation studies using the modified OECD 308 protocol and k'bio values derived thereof bear considerable potential to reflect biotransformation of micropollutants in one of the largest European river basins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Seller
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Laura Varga
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1111 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Elizabeth Börgardts
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Bernadette Vogler
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Elisabeth Janssen
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Heinz Singer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Kathrin Fenner
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Department of Chemistry, University of Zürich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Mark Honti
- ELKH-BME Water Research Group, 1111 Budapest, Hungary.
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Torgeson JM, Rosenfeld CE, Dunshee AJ, Duhn K, Schmitter R, O'Hara PA, Ng GHC, Santelli CM. Hydrobiogechemical interactions in the hyporheic zone of a sulfate-impacted, freshwater stream and riparian wetland ecosystem. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2022; 24:1360-1382. [PMID: 35661843 DOI: 10.1039/d2em00024e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Coupled abiotic and biotic processes in the hyporheic zone, where surface water and groundwater mix, play a critical role in the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nutrients, and trace elements in streams and wetlands. Dynamic hydrologic conditions and anthropogenic pollution can impact redox gradients and biogeochemical response, although few studies examine the resulting hydrobiogeochemical interactions generated within the hyporheic zone. This study examines the effect of hyporheic flux dynamics and anthropogenic sulfate loading on the biogeochemistry of a riparian wetland and stream system. The hydrologic gradient as well as sediment, surface water, and porewater geochemistry chemistry was characterized at multiple points throughout the 2017 spring-summer-fall season at a sulfate-impacted stream flanked by wetlands in northern Minnesota. Results show that organic-rich sediments largely buffer the geochemical responses to brief or low magnitude changes in hydrologic gradient, but sustained or higher magnitude fluxes may variably alter the redox regime and, ultimately, the environmental geochemistry. This has implications for a changing climate that is expected to dramatically alter the hydrological cycle. Further, increased sulfate loading and dissolved or adsorbed ferric iron complexes in the hyporheic zone may induce a cryptic sulfur cycle linked to iron and carbon cycling, as indicated by the abundance of intermediate valence sulfur compounds (e.g., polysulfide, elemental sulfur, thiosulfate) throughout the anoxic wetland and stream-channel sediment column. The observed deviation from a classical redox tower coupled with potential changes in hydraulic gradient in these organic-rich wetland and stream hyporheic zones has implications for nutrient, trace element, and greenhouse gas fluxes into surface water and groundwater, ultimately influencing water quality and global climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Torgeson
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Carla E Rosenfeld
- Section of Minerals and Earth Sciences, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, USA.
| | - Aubrey J Dunshee
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Kelly Duhn
- BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
| | - Riley Schmitter
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - Patrick A O'Hara
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
| | - G H Crystal Ng
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Cara M Santelli
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
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