Chemical And Isotopic Composition Of Nitrogen And Boron In Septic Tank Wastewater Samples

Keywords

Boron; Groundwater; Onsite sewage; Pollution; Total Kjeldahl nitrogen

Abstract

Most of earth’s population depends on onsite sewage systems to dispose of their wastewater to the environment. Samples used to estimate contaminant transport in the environment have typically been collected from nitrogen loads external to the septic tank. Here we characterize the isotopes of boron, nitrate–nitrogen and nitrate–oxygen in partially clarified liquid collected directly from within septic tanks located in Florida. Among other parameters, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total boron were also evaluated. Nitrate–nitrogen isotopes from three samples ranged from +1.25 to +10.00‰, and boron isotopes from five samples ranged from +8.8 to +31.3‰. Nitrate–oxygen isotopes ranged from −3.23 to +19.96‰ and were indicative of an anoxic environment. On average, residential septic tanks were found to contain 96 µg L−1 total boron and 63 mg L−1 TKN. Utilizing isotopes of boron, among other parameters, our findings show that the partially clarified liquid in septic tanks contains a distinguishable δ11B signature.

Publication Date

12-1-2016

Publication Title

Environmental Earth Sciences

Volume

75

Issue

23

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-6283-0

Socpus ID

84997173171 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84997173171

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