Dissipation of twelve organic micropollutants in three different soils: Effect of soil characteristics and microbial composition

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 459; p. 132143
• Main Authors: Menacherry, Sunil Paul M., Kodešová, Radka, Fedorova, Ganna, Sadchenko, Alina, Kočárek, Martin, Klement, Aleš, Fér, Miroslav, Nikodem, Antonín, Chroňáková, Alica, Grabic, Roman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 05.10.2023
• Subjects: atorvastatin; azithromycin; biodegradation; bisphenol S; Emerging pollutants; groundwater; Half-life; microbial biomass; Pharmaceuticals; Phospholipid fatty acids; phospholipids; pollutants; soil; Soil properties; telmisartan; Half-life; Phospholipid fatty acids; Soil properties; Emerging pollutants; Pharmaceuticals
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132143

The dissipation kinetics and half-lives of selected organic micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals and others, were systematically investigated and compared among different soil types. While some pollutants (e.g., atorvastatin, valsartan, and bisphenol S) disappeared rapidly in all the tested soils, many of them (e.g., telmisartan, memantine, venlafaxine, and azithromycin) remained persistent. Irrespective of the soil characteristics, venlafaxine showed the lowest dissipation kinetics and the longest half-lives (250 to approximately 500 days) among the stable compounds. The highest first and second-order kinetics were, however, recorded for valsartan (k1; 0.262 day−1) and atorvastatin (k2; 33.8 g μg−1 day−1) respectively. Nevertheless, more than 90% (i.e., DT90) of all the rapidly dissipated compounds (i.e., atorvastatin, bisphenol S, and valsartan) disappeared from the tested soils within a short timescale (i.e., 5–36 days). Dissipation of pollutants that are more susceptible to microbial degradation (e.g., atorvastatin, bisphenol S, and valsartan) seems to be slower for soils possessing the lowest microbial biomass C (Cmic) and total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAtotal), which also found statistically significant. Our results revealing the persistence of several organic pollutants in agricultural soils, which might impact the quality of these soils, the groundwater, and eventually on the related biota, is of high environmental significance. [Display omitted] •Dissipation of 12 organic micropollutants were investigated in 3 agricultural soils.•Dissipation trends of half of them in soils has not been studied well before.•While ATO, VAL, and BPS disappeared rapidly, MEM, VEN, and AZI remained persistent.•Dissipation of 5 compounds increased with increasing microbial abundance.•Dissipation of 3 of them decreased with increasing their sorption in soils.