Factors influencing adsorption and desorption of trimethoprim on marine sediments: mechanisms and kinetics

Adsorption-desorption behavior of ionic antibiotics in natural aquatic environment is complex, especially in coastal or estuary area where influencing factors such as pH and salinity usually varied in a wide range. In this study, batch-type and stirred flow chamber (SFC) experiments were carried out to simulate the sorption-desorption behavior of trimethoprim (TMP) in seawater-sediment system. Equilibrium and kinetic modeling were carried out to determine the rate and extent of TMP sorption on two marine sediments with different properties. Sediment BHB (K-d, 6.40 L kg(-1)) has a greater sorption capacity compared with sediment LZB (K-d, 3.40 L kg(-1)), which is related to the higher content of organic carbon and clay of sediment BHB. Adsorption of TMP varied in the pH range of 6.9 to 8.1 with maximum adsorption at pH 7.4. Increasing salinity and presence of phosphate and nitrate led to decreased TMP sorption. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) analysis demonstrated the formation of hydrogen bond between TMP and marine sediments. Adsorption of TMP on marine sediments was a non-equilibrium process that can be described with second-order kinetic model. Our analysis suggested that chemical non-equilibrium was the rate controlling process and intraparticle diffusion was also involved in TMP adsorption. A moderate desorption percentage (16.4-22.8% for LZB and 32.5-42.0% for BHB) was observed. Overall, the results showed that environmental factors and time-dependent processes need to be considered in modeling the fate and transport of TMP in coastal/estuarine waters