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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Water Management and Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #382484
Research Project: The Use of Treated Municipal Waste Water as a Source of New Water for Irrigation

Location: Water Management and Conservation Research

Title: Sorption and desorption behavior of four antibiotics at concentrations simulating wastewater reuse in agricultural and forested soils

Author
item FRANKLIN, ALISON - Pennsylvania State University
item Williams, Clinton
item ANDREWS, DANIELLE - University Of Pittsburgh
item WATSON, JOHN - Pennsylvania State University

Submitted to: Chemosphere
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/2021
Publication Date: 12/15/2021
Citation: Franklin, A.M., Williams, C.F., Andrews, D.M., Watson, J.E. 2021. Sorption and desorption behavior of four antibiotics at concentrations simulating wastewater reuse in agricultural and forested soils. Chemosphere. 289. Article 133038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133038.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133038

Interpretive Summary: The presence of antibiotic resistance in the environment has become a concern for human health. To better understand how antibiotic resistance can develop a thorough knowledge of fate and transport of antibiotics in soil systems is needed. The current study determined the sorption characteristics of four antibiotics to soil. Ofloxacin and trimethoprim were found to be strongly bound to soil making them less mobile. Alternatively, sulfamethoxazole and lincomycin were found to be less strongly adsorbed to soil and therefore more mobile. These results indicate that the mobility of antibiotics in soil is dependent upon the specific chemistry of the antibiotic.

Technical Abstract: Due to rises in antibiotic resistance, knowledge about the fate and transport of antibiotics in soil systems is needed. Determination of adsorption coefficients, such as Kd and Koc, are standard measures for determining the sorption capacity and partitioning behavior of organic contaminants in a solid matrix. Frequently, sorption studies use higher antibiotic concentrations (mg L-1) and larger spiked water volumes to mass of soil (>5:1), which may not accurately reflect what would occur when low concentrations of antibiotics (ng L-1 - µg L-1) are introduced into soil environments. The aim of this study was to determine sorption and desorption behaviors of four antibiotics commonly found in the environment due to irrigation with wastewater effluent using parameters that attempt to replicate typical soil conditions. Five concentrations (µg L-1 range) of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), trimethoprim (TMP), lincomycin (LIN) and ofloxacin (OFL) were equilibrated with four different soil types at a 2:1 ratio of spiked water volume to mass of soil, which is more representative of field conditions than ratios of >5:1 that are normally used for sorption studies. Overall, sorption values in this study were typically higher than previous studies that used similar soil types but had higher ratios of spiking solution to mass of soil (>5:1); therefore, higher ratios may underestimate sorption behavior. The range of sorption values (log Kf and log Kfoc, respectively) for the other antibiotics were 1.88 – 1.95 and 3.2 – 4.7 for TMP, 0.43 – 1.4 and 2.7 – 3.2 for SMX, and 0.65 – 1.4 and 2.0 – 4.1 for LIN. Ofloxacin adsorbed tightly to soil particles, and adsorption coefficients could not be calculated. Based on these results, OFL and TMP are expected to strongly interact with soil particles and be less mobile, while SMX and LIN are expected to be more mobile due to weaker sorption interactions.