Fate of para-toluenesulfonamide (p-TSA) in groundwater under anoxic conditions: modelling results from a field site in Berlin (Germany)

Meffe, R. and Kohfahl, C. and Hamann, E. and Greskowiak , J. and Massmann, G. and Dünnbier, U. and Pekdeger, A. (2014) Fate of para-toluenesulfonamide (p-TSA) in groundwater under anoxic conditions: modelling results from a field site in Berlin (Germany). Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

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Abstract

This article reports on a field modelling study to investigate the processes controlling the plume evolution of para-toluenesulfonamide (p-TSA) in anoxic groundwater in Berlin, Germany. The organic contaminant p-TSA originates from the industrial production process of plasticisers, pesticides, antiseptics and drugs and is of general environmental concern for urban water management. Previous laboratory studies revealed that p-TSA is degradable under oxic conditions, whereas it appears to behave conservatively in the absence of oxygen (O2). p-TSA is ubiquitous in the aquatic environment of Berlin and present in high concentrations (up to 38 μg L−1) in an anoxic aquifer downgradient of a former sewage farm, where groundwater is partly used for drinking water production. To obtain refined knowledge of p-TSA transport and degradation in an aquifer at field scale, measurements of p-TSA were carried out at 11 locations (at different depths) between 2005 and 2010. Comparison of chloride (Cl−) and p-TSA field data showed that p-TSA has been retarded in the same manner as Cl−. To verify the transport behaviour under field conditions, a two-dimensional transport model was setup, applying the dual-domain mass transfer approach in the model sector corresponding to an area of high aquifer heterogeneity. The distribution of Cl− and p-TSA concentrations from the site was reproduced well, confirming that both compounds behave conservatively and are subjected to retardation due to back diffusion from water stagnant zones. Predictive simulations showed that without any remediation measures, the groundwater quality near the drinking water well galleries will be affected by high p-TSA loads for about a hundred years.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QE Geology
Depositing User:	Dra. Raffaella Meffe
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2013 07:19
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2014 16:18
URI:	http://eprints.imdea-agua.org:13000/id/eprint/310

Available Versions of this Item

• Fate of para-toluenesulfonamide (p-TSA) in groundwater under anoxic conditions: modelling results from a field site in Berlin (Germany). (deposited 07 Oct 2013 07:19) [Currently Displayed]
  • Fate of para-toluenesulfonamide (p-TSA) in groundwater under anoxic conditions: modelling results from a field site in Berlin (Germany). (deposited 15 Oct 2014 09:18)

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