Fate of bulk organic matter, nitrogen, and pharmaceutically active compounds in batch experiments simulating soil aquifer treatment (SAT) using primary effluent

Reduction of bulk organic matter, nitrogen, and pharmaceutically active compounds from primary effluent during managed aquifer recharge was investigated using laboratory-scale batch reactors. Biologically stable batch reactors were spiked with different concentrations of sodium azide to inhibit biological activity and probe the effect of microbial activity on attenuation of various pollutants of concern. The experimental results obtained revealed that removal of dissolved organic carbon correlated with active microbial biomass. Furthermore, addition of 2 mM of sodium azide affected nitrite-oxidizing bacteria leading to accumulation of nitrite-nitrogen in the reactors while an ammonium-nitrogen reduction of 95.5 % was achieved. Removal efficiencies of the hydrophilic neutral compounds phenacetin, paracetamol, and caffeine were independent of the extent of the active microbial biomass and were >90 % in all reactors, whereas removal of pentoxifylline was dependent on the biological stability of the reactor. However, hydrophobic ionic compounds exhibited removal efficiency >80 % in batch reactors with the highest biological activity as evidenced by high concentration of adenosine triphosphate. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.