Biochar and zero-valent iron sand filtration simultaneously removes contaminants of emerging concern and Escherichia coli from wastewater effluent

Advanced treated municipal wastewater is an important alternative water source for agricultural irrigation. However, the possible persistence of chemical and microbiological contaminants in these waters raise potential safety concerns with regard to reusing treated wastewater for food crop irrigation. Two low-cost and environmentally-friendly filter media, biochar (BC) and zero-valent iron (ZVI), have attracted great interest in terms of treating reused water. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of BC-, nanosilver-amended biochar- (Ag-BC) and ZVI-sand filters, in reducing contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total bacterial diversity from wastewater effluent. Six experiments were conducted with control quartz sand and sand columns containing BC, Ag-BC, ZVI, BC with ZVI, or Ag-BC with ZVI. After filtration, Ag-BC, ZVI, BC with ZVI and Ag-BC with ZVI demonstrated more than 90% (> 1 log) removal of E. coli from wastewater samples, while BC, Ag-BC, BC with ZVI and Ag-BC with ZVI also demonstrated efficient removal of tested CECs. Lower bacterial diversity was also observed after filtration; however, differences were marginally significant. In addition, significantly (p < 0.05) higher bacterial diversity was observed in wastewater samples collected during warmer versus colder months. Leaching of silver ions occurred from Ag-BC columns; however, this was prevented through the addition of ZVI. In conclusion, our data suggest that the BC with ZVI and Ag-BC with ZVI sand filters, which demonstrated more than 99% removal of both CECs and E. coli without silver ion release, may be effective, low-cost options for decentralized treatment of reused wastewater. Graphical Abstract available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-023-00240-y Highlights - The efficacy of BC, Ag-BC, and ZVI sand filtration, and their combinations, in removing contaminants from reused water was evaluated. - Ag-BC, ZVI, BC with ZVI and Ag-BC with ZVI demonstrated > 90% removal of E. coli. - BC, Ag-BC, BC with ZVI and Ag-BC with ZVI demonstrated efficient removal of selected contaminants of emerging concern.

Description

This article was originally published in Biochar. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-023-00240-y. © The Author(s) 2023

Keywords

biochar, zero-valent iron, wastewater reuse, contaminants of emerging concern, recycled water, E. coli

Citation

Zhu, L., Chattopadhyay, S., Elijah Akanbi, O. et al. Biochar and zero-valent iron sand filtration simultaneously removes contaminants of emerging concern and Escherichia coli from wastewater effluent. Biochar 5, 41 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42773-023-00240-y

URI

https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/33604

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