Physicochemical mechanisms responsible for the filtration and mobilization of a filamentous bacteriophage in quartz sand

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 43 - 52
• Main Authors: Redman, Jeremy A., B. Grant, Stanley, Olson, Terese M., Adkins, Jessica M., Jackson, James L., Castillo, Milagros S., Yanko, William A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1999; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biological and physicochemical phenomena; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; electrophoretic mobility; electrostatics; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Exact sciences and technology; filamentous bacteriophage; filtration; Natural water pollution; Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; virus; Water treatment and pollution; filamentous bacteriophage; filtration; electrostatics; electrophoretic mobility; virus; Soil column; Filtration; Pollutant behavior; Shallow water; Interstitial water; Virus; Transport process; Mobilization; Rain; Quartz sand; Electrophoretic mobility; Water pollution; Waste water discharge; Phage; Ground water
• ISSN: 0043-1354; 1879-2448
• DOI: 10.1016/S0043-1354(98)00194-8

This study examines the influence of pore water chemistry on the filtration and physicochemical properties of a male-specific filamentous bacteriophage isolated from chlorinated effluent of the San Jose Creek Water Reclamation Plant in Los Angeles County, California. The isolate belongs to a class of bacteriophage that are naturally present in sources of sewage, and hence may be an indicator of fecal contamination in groundwater. Furthermore, there is some evidence that this class of bacteriophage are mobilized in the subsurface following rainfall events, although the mechanism responsible for this process is not yet clear. Using a model filtration system consisting of packed columns of quartz sand, we found that the filtration of this isolate was strongly dependent on the concentration and valence of the dominant cation in the pore fluid. In one set of experiments involving columns 19
cm in length, virus retention in the column increased from 0% to 99.999% when the electrolyte composition of the pore fluid was changed from 10
mM NaCl to 10
mM CaCl
2. With one exception, filtration efficiencies calculated from the column experiments were inversely proportional to the electrophoretic mobility of the virus, implying that electrostatic interactions between the virus and the quartz surface dominate the filtration dynamics of this particular bacteriophage. From a practical perspective, these results indicate that small changes in the hardness and total dissolved solids of pore fluids –as might occur following a rainfall event– can dramatically affect both the filtration and mobilization of filamentous bacteriophage in subsurface systems.