Caffeine vs. carbamazepine as indicators of wastewater pollution in a karst aquifer

Noam Zach Dvory; Yakov Livshitz; Michael Kuznetsov; Eilon Adar; Guy Gasser; Irena Pankratov; Ovadia Lev; Alexander Yakirevich

doi:10.5194/hess-22-6371-2018

journal article Open Access Dec 10, 2018

Caffeine vs. carbamazepine as indicators of wastewater pollution in a karst aquifer

Noam Zach Dvory

Yakov Livshitz Michael Kuznetsov Eilon Adar Guy Gasser Irena Pankratov Ovadia Lev Alexander Yakirevich

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Vol. 22 No. 12 pp. 6371-6381 · Copernicus GmbH

View at Publisher Save 10.5194/hess-22-6371-2018

Abstract

Abstract. This paper presents the analysis of caffeine and carbamazepine
transport in the subsurface as a result of wastewater release in the Sorek
creek over the outcrops of the carbonate, Yarkon-Taninim, aquifer in Israel.
Both caffeine and carbamazepine were used as indicators of sewage
contamination in the subsurface. While carbamazepine is considered
conservative, caffeine is subject to sorption and degradation. The objective
of the study was to quantify differences in their transport under similar
conditions in the karst aquifer. Water flow and pollutant transport in a
“vadose zone–aquifer” system were simulated by a quasi-3-D dual
permeability numerical model. The results of this study show that each of
these two pollutants can be considered effective tracers for characterization
and assessment of aquifer contamination. Carbamazepine was found to be more
suitable for assessing the contamination boundaries, while caffeine can be
used as a contaminant tracer only briefly after contamination occurs. In
instances where there are low concentrations of carbamazepine which appear as
background contamination in an aquifer, caffeine might serve as a better
marker for detecting new contamination events, given its temporal nature. The
estimated caffeine degradation rate and the distribution coefficient of a
linear sorption isotherm were 0.091 d−1 and
0.1 L kg−1, respectively, which imply a
high attenuation capacity. The results of the simulation indicate that by the
end of the year most of the carbamazepine mass (approximately 95 %)
remained in the matrix of the vadose zone, while all of the caffeine was
completely degraded a few months after the sewage was discharged.

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Details

Published: Dec 10, 2018
Vol/Issue: 22(12)
Pages: 6371-6381
License: View

Authors

B R G M, 3 av, C, Guillemin B.P. 36009, F-45060 Orléans cedex 2, France, Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA, and Water Monitoring Laboratory, and National Water Commission, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel

O

Ovadia Lev

The Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, The Casali Institute of Applied Chemistry, The Chemistry Institute, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel

A

Alexander Yakirevich

Cite This Article

Noam Zach Dvory, Yakov Livshitz, Michael Kuznetsov, et al. (2018). Caffeine vs. carbamazepine as indicators of wastewater pollution in a karst aquifer. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 22(12), 6371-6381. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-6371-2018

Caffeine vs. carbamazepine as indicators of wastewater pollution in a karst aquifer

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