Abstract
Disinfection by-products (DBPs) discharged from sewage treatment plants (STPs) could harm downstream receiving waters and drinking water resources. In-stream attenuation of photo- and non-photodegradable DBPs during river transportation is currently not well understood. Here we sought to fill this knowledge gap by meta-data-analysis for modeling in-stream attenuation of DBPs. Data were collected along a treated-wastewater-dominated 1.6-km stretch of a river channel for 3 years and incorporated seasonal and diurnal patterns. Photo-irradiation and water temperature were the main factors responsible for in-stream attenuation of photodegradable N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), and water temperature for that of non-photodegradable formaldehyde (FAH). The factors were incorporated into photo-dependent and -independent models to account for temporal variations in NDMA and FAH, respectively. Estimated mass recoveries of NDMA and FAH agreed well with observed values along the stretch. The models developed here offer a novel and useful tool for estimating levels of NDMA and FAH during river transportation.
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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementary information files].
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Funding
The Long-range Research Initiative of the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) (PT04-01) fund supported the design of this study and sample collection; the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (5-1653) of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency of Japan supported the data analysis, interpretation of data, and writing the manuscript.
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Bo Zhao: Conceptualization, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, writing - original draft, writing - review and editingNorihide Nakada: Funding acquisition, resources, project administration, writing - review and editing, supervisionSeiya Hanamoto: Formal analysis, methodology, writing - review and editing, validationLixun Zhang: Formal analysis, validationYongjie Wong: Formal analysis, validation
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Highlights
• Photo-dependent degradation of NDMA by sunlight (UVA and UVB) was quantified.
• Photo-independent degradation of NDMA and FAH was quantified.
• Attenuation of NDMA and FAH in an urban river was modeled.
• The river channel effectively mitigated NDMA and FAH.
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Zhao, B., Nakada, N., Hanamoto, S. et al. Modeling in-stream attenuation of N-nitrosodimethylamine and formaldehyde during urban river transportation based on seasonal and diurnal variation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 10889–10897 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11361-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11361-3