Removal of Organic Matter and Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater Effluent through Managed Aquifer Recharge

Im, Huncheol; Yeo, Inseol; Maeng, Sung-Kyu; Choi, Heechul; Im, Huncheol; Yeo, Inseol; Maeng, Sung-Kyu; Choi, Heechul

doi:2015.37.3.182

The Korean text of this paper can be translated into multiple languages on the website of http://jksee.or.kr through Google Translator.

J Korean Soc Environ Eng > Volume 37(3); 2015 > Article

ORIGINAL PAPER

J Korean Soc Environ Eng 2015;37(3): 182-190. doi: https://doi.org/10.4491/KSEE.2015.37.3.182

하수처리수를 이용한 대수층 함양관리 기술(Managed Aquifer Recharge)에서 유기물과 의약화합물 제거

임훈철¹, 여인설¹, 맹승규², 최희철¹

¹광주과학기술원 환경공학부
²세종대학교 건설환경공학과

Removal of Organic Matter and Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater Effluent through Managed Aquifer Recharge

Huncheol Im¹, Inseol Yeo¹, Sung-Kyu Maeng², Heechul Choi¹

¹School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
²School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University

Corresponding author

Heechul Choi ,Tel: 062-715-2441, Fax: 062-715-2434, Email: hcchoi@gist.ac.kr

Received: February 12, 2015; Revised: March 12, 2015; Accepted: March 31, 2015. Published online: March 31, 2015.

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to evaluate the removal efficiencies of organic matter and pharmaceuticals and to identify the removal mechanism of pharmaceuticals using sand obtained from Hwangryong River in Jangsung. Batch and column studies were used to simulate managed aquifer recharge (MAR) systems. All experiments were performed using field effluent containing pharmaceuticals from Damyang Wastewater Treatment Plant as an influent. Based on the removal results of organic matter and pharmaceuticals from the batch and column experiments, soil organic matter (SOM) and microbial activity were found to effectively remove target contaminants. The removal of organic matter was found to increase under biotic conditions. Neutral and cation pharmaceuticals (iopromide, estrone, and trimethoprim) exhibited removal efficiencies higher than 70% from natural sand and baked sand media in batch and column studies. Carbamazepine persisted in the sand batch and column studies. Anion pharmaceuticals (ketoprofen, ibuprofen, and diclofenac) can be removed under conditions featuring high SOM and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations in the sand surface. Based on the experimental Batch and column results, biodegradation and sorption were found to be important mechanisms for the removal of pharmaceuticals within the simulated MAR systems.

Key Words: Managed Aquifer Recharge, Riverbank Filtration, Pharmaceuticals, Organic Matter, Batch Experiment, Column Experiment