Dibyanshu Dibyanshu, Scheytt Traugott
Department for Hydrogeology and Hydrochemistry, Institute of Geology, Technische Universitat Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2025 May;32(24):14452-14464. doi: 10.1007/s11356-025-36536-8. Epub 2025 May 22.
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is a vital water management strategy that infiltrates surface water or wastewater effluent into aquifers through soil and sediment. However, this process can introduce pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) and their metabolites, posing environmental risks. This study investigates the transport behavior of four selected PhACs-caffeine, carbamazepine, diclofenac, and ibuprofen-under neutral pH conditions using column experiments in both unsaturated and saturated porous media. PhACs and a tracer solution were introduced into the system, and experimental results were simulated using the CXTFIT model to determine retardation and degradation factors. Experimental findings indicate high mobility for carbamazepine and ibuprofen across both unsaturated and saturated conditions with high recovery (> 88%) and negligible degradation (< 0.05). Ibuprofen behaved similarly identical to the tracer in unsaturated medium and with small adsorption/desorption in saturation with a retardation factor of ~ 1, while carbamazepine showed slight retardation and tailing effects showing higher persistence in the water, with high dispersion in unsaturated medium. Diclofenac significantly degrades in saturated media (45% recovery) but increases release under unsaturated conditions (91% recovery). This indicates the release of diclofenac through the vadose zone but can undergo degradation and retardation in aquifers. Caffeine exhibited high retardation and degradation, with a low recovery rate (27-30%) under both conditions, suggesting that degradation or irreversible adsorption may have occurred independently of moisture content during transport. This finding highlights the differences in mobility and degradation across unsaturated and saturated zones, posing long-term contamination risks of PhACs. This underscores the need for robust monitoring and management to prevent groundwater contamination from pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, especially when using wastewater effluent or stormwater for recharge.
有管理的含水层补给（MAR）是一种重要的水资源管理策略，它通过土壤和沉积物将地表水或废水渗入含水层。然而，这一过程可能会引入具有药理活性的化合物（PhACs）及其代谢物，从而带来环境风险。本研究利用柱实验，在非饱和和饱和多孔介质中，研究了四种选定的PhACs——咖啡因、卡马西平、双氯芬酸和布洛芬在中性pH条件下的迁移行为。将PhACs和示踪剂溶液引入系统，并使用CXTFIT模型模拟实验结果，以确定阻滞和降解因子。实验结果表明，卡马西平和布洛芬在非饱和和饱和条件下都具有较高的迁移率，回收率高（>88%），降解可忽略不计（<0.05）。布洛芬在非饱和介质中的行为与示踪剂相似，在饱和状态下吸附/解吸较小，阻滞因子约为1，而卡马西平表现出轻微的阻滞和拖尾效应，在水中的持久性较高，在非饱和介质中的分散性较高。双氯芬酸在饱和介质中显著降解（回收率45%），但在非饱和条件下释放增加（回收率91%）。这表明双氯芬酸通过渗流带释放，但在含水层中可能会发生降解和阻滞。咖啡因表现出较高的阻滞和降解，在两种条件下回收率都较低（27-30%），这表明在运输过程中，降解或不可逆吸附可能与水分含量无关。这一发现突出了非饱和区和饱和区在迁移率和降解方面的差异，带来了PhACs的长期污染风险。这强调了需要进行强有力的监测和管理，以防止药物、病原体和抗生素抗性细菌对地下水造成污染，特别是在使用废水或雨水进行补给时。
