Behavior of Natural Estrogens in Reservoir: Investigations Based on Continuous Flow Experiments and Model Analysis

Desmiarti, Reni; Li, Jiefeng; Li, Fusheng

Behavior of Natural Estrogens in Reservoir: Investigations Based on Continuous Flow Experiments and Model Analysis

2012

Desmiarti, Reni | Li, Jiefeng | Li, Fusheng

The behavior of estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2) in relatively closed water environment was studied by continuous flow experiment using sediments from a freshwater reservoir. For this, four sediment columns (two oxic ones and two anoxic ones) were employed, which were structured by packing 30 cm of undisturbed sediment and 60 cm of overlying water collected from two sites within a reservoir. A mass balance model that considered the influent flux, the effluent flux, mass transfer, sorption, and biodegradation was proposed to describe the behavior of E2 and E1 in the columns. The results indicated that the water–sediment partition coefficient of E1 [Formula: see text] was higher than E2 [Formula: see text]. The degradation rate of E1 (k E1) was smaller than E2 (k E2). Under both oxic and anoxic conditions, E1 was formed from E2. Furthermore, to clarify the impact of the model parameters such as the hydraulic retention time (HRT), K d, and k on the behavior of E2 and E1, variance analysis was performed based on the results of model simulations. The results showed that the concentrations of E2 and E1 in the column effluent were controlled most significantly by the sorption capacity of the natural estrogens onto sediment particles, with the determined contributory ratios changing in the order of sorption > HRT > degradation.

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