Sorption-desorption equilibrium and diffusion of tetracycline in poultry litter and municipal biosolids soil amendments

- Tetracycline sorption was up to 20 × higher in biosolids than poultry litter.
- Alum treatment of amendments increased sorption by up to 40×.
- Equilibrium distribution coefficients were strongly related to bound Al + Fe.
- Effective diffusion coefficients were strongly related to Kd and temperature.
- Alum treatment is a promising strategy for reducing TET mobility in amended soils.

Tetracycline (TET) is commonly used to treat bacterial diseases in humans and chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), is largely excreted, and is found at elevated concentrations in treated sewage sludge (biosolids) and poultry litter (excrement plus bedding materials). Routine application of these nutrient-and carbon-enriched materials to soils improves fertility and other characteristics, but the presence of antibiotics (and other pharmaceuticals) in amendments raises questions about potential adverse effects on biota and development of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Hazard risks are largely dictated by sorption-desorption and diffusion behavior in amendments, so these processes were evaluated from sorption-desorption equilibrium isotherm and diffusion cell experiments with four types amendments (biosolids, poultry manure, wood chip litter, and rice hull litter) at three temperatures (8 °C, 20 °C and 32 °C). Linear sorption-desorption equilibrium distribution constants (Kd) in native amendments ranged between 124-2418 L kg−1. TET sorption was significantly increased after treatment with alum, and there was a strong exponential relationship between Kd and the concentration of bound Al3+ in amendments (R2 = 0.94), which indicated that amendments contained functional groups capable of chelating Al3+ and forming metal bridges with TET. Effective diffusion coefficients of TET in amendments ranged between 0.1 and 5.2 × 10−6 cm2 s−1, which were positively related to temperature and inversely related to Kd by a multiple regression model (R2 = 0.86). Treatment of organic amendments with alum greatly increased Kd, would decrease Ds, and so would greatly reduce hazard risks of applying these organic amendments with this antibiotic to soils.