DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, 12:00 pm
Elodie Passeport
University of Toronto
Fate of trace organic contaminants in green infrastructure
Green infrastructure such as constructed wetlands and bioretention cells can eliminate some trace organic contaminants, though with variable efficiency. In this talk, I will focus on corrosion-inhibitor benzotriazole as a model contaminant. Through detailed characterization of its transfer and transformation mechanisms, we obtain new insights into the performance of green infrastructure. For example, benzotriazole adsorption in bioretention soil increases under cold climate conditions. In a full-scale field trial, we observed benzotriazole transformation by bacteria and plants. I will also present a novel application of Compound Specific Isotope Analysis to benzotriazole photolysis, and assess its strengths and limitations for the identification of contaminant transformation and reaction mechanisms.
Seminar Host:
AJ Both