Investigation of an onsite wastewater treatment system in sandy soil: sorption and biodegradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate.

The objective of this work was to determine the sorptive and biodegradable characteristics of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) in a soil below a Florida, USA, septic system drainfield. Three distinct soil samples were collected from the septic system drainfield study site. These soils were used in laboratory sorption and biodegradation studies. Different concentrations of LAS were added, in radiolabeled and unlabeled forms, to a series of test vessels that contained upgradient groundwater and the soils collected from the study site. The sorption test was designed to determine the partitioning of LAS between groundwater and soil in each sample. Results indicated that the sorption distribution coefficient (Kd) decreased from 4.02 to 0.43 L/kg and that the rate of ultimate biodegradation (first-order rate constant, k1) decreased from 2.17 to 0.08/d with increasing distance (0.7-1.2 m vertically below ground surface [BGS] and 0 to 6.1 m horizontally) from the drainfield. The three soils showed 49.8 to 83.4% LAS mineralization (percentage of theoretical CO2) over 45- or 59-d test periods. These results demonstrate that subsurface soils in this system have the potential to sorb and biodegrade LAS.