I. De Bustamante

Land application: Its effectiveness in purification of urban and industrial wastewaters in La Mancha, Spain

The area studied is located in the basin of the River Guadiana. This work establishes the effectiveness of the treatment of wastewater by land application and compares the results of discharging urban and industrial effluents. We found that all the contaminants analyzed in the discharged wastewater in both land applications undergo considerable reduction as they pass through the soil, which acts as a filter, eliminating organic compounds, nutrients, and microorganisms. As regards the sodium and potassium cations, the soil acts in a different way than might be expected (fixing of K+ and washing of Na+), by releasing potassium and fixing sodium in the first few centimeters of soil. This occurs, apparently, because irrigation with wastewater modifies the chemical conditions.

Sensitivity Analysis of APLIS Method to Compute Spatial Variability of Karst Aquifers Recharge at the National Park of Viñales (Cuba)

In this contribution, sensitivity analysis of APLIS method is realized. APLIS method is based on a GIS analysis where the principal variables which influenced the recharge are taken into consideration, with a special emphasis on carbonate aquifers. The methodology is applied to carbonated aquifers of the tropical mountains at the National Park of Vinales. As the method has been developed from Mediterranean conditions, some modifications were required to improve the soil. The method shows acceptable results taking into account antecedent studies in the area. Results of sensitivity analysis of map removing show that the relative influence in the final recharge map is L>I>S>P>A. The single parameter sensitivity analysis shows some deviations between the empirical and the real weighting.

Vinasses purification model in carbonated materials by low-cost technologies: An example in the Llanura Manchega (Spain)

This work establishes the effectiveness of the unsaturated zone as purifier of residual liquid generated by the production of alcohol, particularly when the materials comprising the zone are carbonate. It has been verified that when the effluent discharge occurs into this zone, all the parameters which indicate contamination, such as temperature, potassium, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, and ultraviolet index, have a significant reduction, whereas when the effluent discharges into the saturated zone, an increase in parameters indicates contamination. An effluent discharge model based on low-cost technologies is proposed, where the purification is performed using the autopurifier subsoil power (Unsaturated zone).

Removal of emerging organic contaminants in a poplar vegetation filter

Vegetation filters (VFs), a type of land application system, are a robust technology based on natural treatment mechanisms for the removal of wastewater contaminants. Their capacity to attenuate emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) has not yet been evaluated. The present study reports the results of a 2-year EOC monitoring carried out using a poplar VF receiving wastewater primarily treated by an Imhoff tank. The compounds selected included analgesics, a β-adrenergic blocker, stimulants, an anticonvulsant, an anti-depressant, an anti-inflammatory, an antibiotic and analgesic and stimulant metabolites. EOCs were analysed in the Imhoff tank effluent, in the infiltrated water at a depth of 90cm and in the groundwater at a depth of 10m. The results demonstrated that EOC attenuation was more significant in the first 90cm than in the rest of the soil profile. The removal efficiency for all of the selected EOCs was higher than 90% with the exception of ketoprofen, which may pose a higher threat of groundwater contamination. The observed attenuation correlated with the hydrophobicity and charge state of the EOCs. The higher persistence of the metabolites 4-AAA and 4-FAA shows that progression in the degradation pathway does not always imply a mitigation of contamination.