1. Assessment of sediment arsenic and iron occurrence and leaching potential in a potable water treatment plant wastewater stabilization pond system
- Author
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Nia, Ali Ekhlasi, Bull, Harrison, Asadi, Mohsen, and McPhedran, Kerry
- Subjects
Water -- Purification ,Leaching -- Environmental aspects ,Water treatment plants -- Environmental aspects -- By-products ,Heavy metals -- Environmental aspects -- Contamination ,Sediments (Geology) -- Environmental aspects ,Engineering and manufacturing industries - Abstract
Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs) are commonly used to reduce wastewater metal(loid) concentrations from drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) through sedimentation. However, this results in increased sediment concentrations that can be released back into the overlying water. Thus, our goal was to evaluate the WSP metal(loid)s occurrence and leaching potential. Currently, a Saskatchewan based DWTP's WSP system was investigated given historically elevated effluent As and Fe concentrations. The WSP consists of five ponds that were sampled on six occasions in 2019 and 2020. In addition, sediments were used in laboratory-based experiments to determine their leaching potential. Overall, the sediments were found to contain elevated concentrations of As and Fe of 25 to 400 mg/kg and 10 000 to 45 000 mg/kg, respectively. Leaching experiments indicated that the pond sediments could potentially release As and Fe with log [K.sub.d] values ranging from 2.21 to 4.31 L/kg, whereas Fe ranged from 3.32 to 5.53 L/kg. Key words: arsenic, iron, wastewater stabilization ponds, drinking water treatment, sediment leaching. Les bassins de stabilisation des eaux usees (BSEU) sont couramment utilises pour reduire les concentrations de metaux (metalloides) provenant des usines de production d'eau potable (UEP) par sedimentation. Toutefois, cela entraine une augmentation des concentrations de sediments qui peuvent etre rejetes dans l'eau sus-jacente. Ainsi, l'objectif des auteurs etait d'evaluer la presence de metaux (metalloides) dans les BSEU et leur potentiel de lixiviation. A l'heure actuelle, un systeme de BSEU d'une UEP en Saskatchewan a fait l'objet d'une etude, compte tenu des concentrations historiquement elevees d'As et de Fe dans les effluents. Le BSEU comprend cinq bassins qui ont ete echantillonnes a six reprises en 2019 et 2020. De plus, les sediments ont ete utilises dans des experiences en laboratoire pour determiner leur potentiel de lixiviation. Dans l'ensemble, les sediments contenaient des concentrations elevees d'As et de Fe de 25 a 400 et de 10 000 a 45 000 mg/kg, respectivement. Les experiences de lixiviation ont indique que les sediments du bassin pourraient rejeter de l'As et du Fe avec des valeurs de log [K.sub.d] ([K.sub.d], rapport de distribution) allant de 2,21 a 4,31 L/kg pour l'As, tandis que Fe variait de 3,32 a 5,53 L/kg. Mots-cles : arsenic (As), fer (Fe), bassins de stabilisation des eaux usees (BSEU), production de l'eau potable, lixiviation des sediments., Introduction Raw water sources for drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) include surface waters and groundwaters that may contain elevated concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids. Of most interest in the [...]
- Published
- 2022
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