ARS | Publication request: SORPTION AND MOBILITY OF SULFAMETHAZINE IN VARIOUS SOILS: A LABORATORY STUDY.

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 1, 2004
Publication Date: November 1, 2004
Citation: Jaehoon, L., Casey, F., Hakk, H., Larsen, G.L. 2004. Sorption and mobility of sulfamethazine in various soils: a laboratory study. [abstract] American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, Nov. 1-4, 2004.

Technical Abstract: Contamination of water and soil by animal manure is causing increased concern. Animal wastes often contain antibiotics as well as nutrients, hormones, and pathogens. While researchers have begun to study the occurrence and threat of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in soil and water systems, critical and detailed evaluations of the fate and transport of antibiotics in soil are not evidenced in the scientific literature. In this study, batch and miscible displacement column experiments were used to characterize the fate and transport processes of sulfamethazine in sand and five different agricultural soils. The equilibrium batch results showed correlations of sorption with particle size (r2=0.75) and organic matter content (r2=0.85), but not with specific surface area (r2=0.29). The breakthrough curves obtained from organic-rich soils were strongly asymmetrical and were shifted to the left, indicating a significant rate limited sorption process. This is possibly due to kinetic sorption in organic matter. A chemical nonequlibrium two-site sorption model resulted in excellent descriptions of the breakthrough data. Mass recovery of the breakthrough curves ranged from 69 to 99 % for the six different soil type. Due to the complex nature of fate and transport of antibiotics in soil, further study is warranted under various soil and water conditions.