3rd UF Water Institute Symposium Abstract

   
Submitter's Name Ying Yao
Session Name Posters - Innovative Biological, Physical, and Chemical Nutrient Reduction & Recovery Technologies
Category Innovative biological, physical, and chemical nutrient reduction & recovery technologies
Poster Number 24
 
Author(s) Ying Yao,  UF (Presenting Author)
  Bin Gao,  Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida
  Hao Chen, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, University of Florida
  Mandu Inyang, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida,
   
  Adsorption of Sulfamethoxazole on Biochar and its Impact on Reclaimed Water Irrigation
   
  Reclaimed water irrigation can satisfy the increasing water demand, but it may also introduce pharmaceutical contaminants into the soil and groundwater environment. In this work, a range of laboratory experiments were conducted to test whether biochar can be used as soil amendment to remove sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from reclaimed water. The adsorption ability of eight biochars was tested. Two biochars with relatively higher solid-water distribution coefficients (Kd) were used in leaching column experiments to study their effect on the transport of SMX in reclaimed water through soils. We found that biochar amelioration reduced the transport of SMX dramatically. Only about 14% and 2% of SMX were transport through biochar-amended soils, while 60% was found in the leachate of the untreated soils. TCLP extraction experiments confirmed that the mobility and bioavailability of SMX in amended soils were lower than that in untreated soils. Bacterial growth inhibition experiments were conducted to test the toxicity of SMX-laden biochars. Results from this study indicate that biochar soil amelioration can not only sequestrate carbon and improve soil quality, but also be used to enhance the safety of reclaimed water irrigation to prevent the leaching of pharmaceutical contaminants in soil and groundwater systems.