Impact of inorganic and organic pollutants from a Belgian wastewater treatment plant on adjacent surface and groundwaters

doi:10.1007/s11783-024-1806-5

2024, Vol. 18

Issue (4) : 46 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1806-5

Impact of inorganic and organic pollutants from a Belgian wastewater treatment plant on adjacent surface and groundwaters

Mingyue Luo¹, Yiqi Su¹, Delphine Jenny Vandeputte¹, Yuwei Jia¹, Guanlei Li¹, Willy Baeyens¹, Marijke Huysmans², Marc Elskens¹, Yue Gao¹(

)

¹. Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry Department (AMGC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
². Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering (HYDR), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

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Abstract

● Wastewater reuse for groundwater replenishment and agricultural irrigation.

● Assessment of (in)organic pollutants in WWTP effluent and adjacent water systems.

● Measurement of bioavailable inorganic pollutants using DGT technique.

● Calculation of lability of inorganic pollutants based on the DGT results.

Under the pressure of global droughts and water shortage, it is essential to evolve toward a sustainable and robust water system. One possible avenue is the maximum reuse of treated wastewater, but the quality of which determines its reuse. Therefore, inorganic (Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu, and As) and organic (xenoestrogens and polycyclic aromatic contaminants, PACs) contaminants were monthly monitored in an effluent of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), the surrounding surface waters and the local groundwater in Belgium. Dissolved and particulate concentrations of inorganic contaminants in these water bodies were analyzed. In addition, Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films (DGT) was used in situ to obtain bioavailable metal fractions. In the WWTP effluent and surface waters, only Ni exceeds the Annual Average-Environmental Quality Standard (AA-EQS), while in the groundwater, dissolved As was the predominant element. Moreover, in the surface and effluent waters the highest lability degrees were observed for Cd and Ni. The concentrations of these metal species in the effluent water were lower than in the other water bodies. Micro-organic pollutants, xenoestrogens and PACs were analyzed by dual Estrogen and Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor - Chemical Activated LUciferase gene eXpression (ER & AhR-CALUX) assays. Since the annual averaged (AA) bioequivalent concentration of E2 (0.18 ng/L) is below the AA-EQS standard (0.4 ng/L), and the bioequivalent concentration of benzo[a]pyrene never exceeded the maximum admissible concentration (MAC), the reclamation and reuse of treated wastewater for groundwater replenishment and agricultural irrigation should pose no environmental problems, at least in a short-term.

Keywords Metal contaminants DGT Labile metal fractions ERE/AhR-CALUX BEQ Xenoestrogens and polycyclic aromatic contaminants

Corresponding Author(s): Yue Gao

Issue Date: 02 January 2024

Cite this article:

Mingyue Luo,Yiqi Su,Delphine Jenny Vandeputte, et al. Impact of inorganic and organic pollutants from a Belgian wastewater treatment plant on adjacent surface and groundwaters[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(4): 46.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-024-1806-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2024/V18/I4/46

Tab.1 Identification and coordinates of the sampling stations

Tab.2 Calculated limits of detection (LODs) for each performed measurement

Tab.3 Parameter values (95% CI) and goodness of fit criteria min-max for ER and AhR-CALUX

Fig.1 Temperature, pH, conductivity, and oxygen concentration profiles in the pilot sampling sites from June 2020 to September 2021.

Fig.2 Seasonal variations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) from June 2020 to September 2021 in Effluent, Abeek upstream and Abeek downstream.

Fig.3 Seasonal variations of the measured dissolved trace metal concentrations from June 2020 to September 2021 in Effluent, Abeek upstream, Abeek downstream, PB01A and PB03A.

Tab.4 Water quality guidelines for dissolved trace elements in fresh water

Fig.4 Labile trace metal concentrations in Effluent, Abeek upstream, Abeek downstream. (Samples were collected in November 2020, March 2021, May 2021, September 2021 by DGT device).

	C_dissolved^a(μg/L)	C_DGT^b(μg/L)	I^c	pH^d	DOC^e(mg/L）	$K'$ ^f	$D M$ ^g（E–06 cm²/s）	$D M L$ ^h（E–06 cm²/s）	$ε$ ⁱ	$ξ$ ^j	$k d$ ^k（s^–1）
Abeek river
Cd	0.035	0.02	0.003	7.25	12	1.21 E + 09	4.57	2.3	0.5	0.57	1.0 E–03
Cu	0.0785	0.022	0.003	7.25	12	3.16 E + 10	4.67	2.3	0.49	0.33	3.30 E–04
Ni	9.21	4.76	0.003	7.25	12	6.46 E + 08	4.33	2.3	0.53	0.6	1.7 E–03
Pb	0.119	0.0104	0.003	7.25	12	9.08 E + 09	6.03	2.3	0.38	0.07	4.7 E–05
WWTP Effluent
Cd	0.014	0.002	0.0045	7.3	17	3.26 E + 09	4.57	2.3	0.5	0.152	1.13 E–04
Cu	0.784	0.071	0.0045	7.3	17	8.48 E + 10	4.67	2.3	0.49	0.091	6.3 E–05
Ni	2.997	1.356	0.0045	7.3	17	1.33 E + 09	4.33	2.3	0.53	0.452	5.8 E–04
Pb	0.173	0.022	0.0045	7.3	17	1.78 E + 10	6.03	2.3	0.38	0.13	9.5 E–05

Tab.5 Dissociation constants of metal complexes in Abeek river and WWTP (Kinrooi) and parameters used for their calculation

Fig.5 Seasonal variations of particulate meatal concentrations from June 2020 to September 2021 in Effluent, Abeek upstream and Abeek downstream.

Fig.6 Overview of the seasonal trend of BEQ-E2 in effluents and groundwater at Kinrooi. The dotted red line indicates the value of AA-QSfw for E2 as endorsed by SCHEER (2022b).

Fig.7 Overview of seasonal trend of BEQ-BaP in effluent and groundwater at Kinrooi. The dotted red line indicates the value of AA-QSfw for BaP as approved by SCHEER (2023) and the European standard for drinking water (DIRECTIVE/2020/2184/EU). The solid black line indicates the level of precipitation smoothed over the period considered.

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