Use of Lignocellulosic Materials as Sorbents for Pesticide Residue from Cranberry Bog Water Supplies

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Use of Lignocellulosic Materials as Sorbents for
Pesticide Residue from Cranberry Bog Water
Supplies
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• Abstract
• Lignocellulosic materials are available in large
  quantities as residues from timber, and
  agricultural operations. Preliminary results
  from studies currently underway at the USDA
  Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory and the
  University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
  Environmental Laboratory indicate that some
  lignocellulosic materials can be used to adsorb
  certain pesticides in water solutions. The major
  advantage of using waste lignocellulosic
  materials for water treatment is their low cost.
  In addition, they are relatively easy to dispose
  of at the end of their useful life cycle. This
  could be of great importance to the cranberry
  industry in Massachusetts as they try to
  proactively cope with pesticide residues in
  discharge water.
• Objectives
• ? Demonstrate the feasibility of using
  lignocellulosic materials for sorption of
  chlorpyrifos, chlorothalonil, and dichlobenil in
  water solutions, and compare the results with the
  performance of granular activated charcoal.
• ? Conduct experiments on pilot scale
  modification of selected lignocellulosic
  materials to
• 1. maximize the capacity and efficiency of
  adsorption of the pesticides chlorpyrifos,
  chlorothalonil and diclobenil
• 2. design and construct a filtration system(s)
  for limited field trials.
• Develop a plan for commercialization of the
  filtration system by the cranberry industry and
  other agricultural sectors.

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Massachusetts Cranberry Bogs

• Massachusetts is a leading producer of
  cranberries, with a crop of approximately 1.875
  million barrels in 1999 representing 29 of the
  nation's production.
• There are 14,400 acres of cranberries in
  production in Massachusetts. Cranberry farmers
  own and control an additional 48,000 acres of
  upland and wetland support lands.
• The cranberry crop contributes more than 200
  million in payroll to Massachusetts workers and
  employs about 5,500 people. The multiplier effect
  into the economy is estimated to be about 1
  billion.
• Of the approximately 1,000 cranberry growers in
  North America, 500 are in Massachusetts.
  Cranberry farms are located in the southeastern
  part of the state with about 90 in Plymouth and
  Bristol Counties and about 10 on Cape Cod.

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Typical Northeast Cranberry Pests

• The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is
  susceptible to numerous pests. In the northeast
  region, the cranberry is vulnerable to species
  such as the cranberry fruitworm (Acrobasis
  vaccinii Riley), and the cranberry weevil
  (Anthonomus musculus Say).

Cranberry Weevil Anthonomus musculus Say
Cranberry Fruitworm Acrobasis vaccinii Riley
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Pesticide Applications

• In the Northeast, pesticides are typically
  applied from late May to early August.
• Pesticides are commonly introduced to the bog via
  irrigation systems.

• Orthene, shown here, is a common insecticide.
• Other common pesticides of the Northeast region
  include Lorsban 4E, Diazinon, Guthion
  Solupak, Caseron 4G, Ferbam Granuflo, and Bravo
  Weather Stik.
• denotes toxicity to fish according to 2001
  Northeast U.S. Cranberry Pesticide Chart.

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Effects of Residual Pesticides

• After pesticides are applied on the bog, residual
  pesticides are discharged from the bog and are
  found in receiving bodies of water.
• These residual pesticides may be toxic to fish
  and other species, even at very low
  concentrations.

LC50_96H represents the concentration of
chemical at which 50 of the fish species die
after 96 hours of static exposure.
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Lignocellulosic Material

• Lignocellulosic material originates from waste
  produced by the forestry industry. This material
  may consist of bark chips and logging debris.
• These wastes are put through physical and
  chemical processes to enhance their surface
  absorption characteristics. These produced
  materials have been shown to have a fairly high
  affinity for some heavy metals, and
  organochlorine pesticides such as dichlobenil,
  chlorpyrifos and chlorothalonil.

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Absorption

• The surface of lignocellulosic material consists
  of numerous surface sites. These sites act as
  receptors to aqueous pesticides. When a solution
  containing pesticides is passed through
  lignocellulosic media, the pesticides attach to
  the surface sites of the media.
• The attraction of the pesticide to the surface
  site is due to surface complexation.

LIGNOCELLULOSIC MATERIAL
RESIDUAL PESTICIDES
SURFACE SITES
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Lignocellulosic Performance

• Numerous promising lignocellulosic materials were
  identified and developed for the adsorption of
  pesticides. Future plans include preparing
  sufficiently large quantities (in 30-100 gallon
  scale-up units) of two of these materials for use
  in two field trials at commercial cranberry
  farms. One in Carver, Massachusetts, and the
  other in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

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Filtration Applications

• Additional research will include field
  applications of the lignocellulosic media in a
  filtration unit. This unit is designed to be
  installed at the discharge point of the bog.
• Two cranberry bogs have been selected as test
  sites for the filtration system. Both bogs are
  flow through systems. Water flows steady
  through the bog system with little or no
  detention time.

Point of Discharge
Carver, Massachusetts test bog
Discharge Weir at the Plymouth, Massachusetts
test bog
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Filtration System
Point f Discharge
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Public Benefit
The benefit to the public to be derived from this
project is the protection of surface water
resources. The growth of the cranberry industry
has resulted in greater total use of pesticides.
Adjacent surface water is potentially at risk for
accumulating pesticide residues. The use of cost
effective filtration systems based on
lignocellulosic materials will facilitate efforts
to remove contaminants from surface water runoff
and to maintain acceptable water quality
standards.
As an example, this pond in Carver, Massachusetts
accepts runoff from over 18 acres of cranberry
bog. Maintenance of aquatic health of the pond
(in terms of water quality parameters such as
high dissolved oxygen, low turbidity, high
alkalinity, biodiversity in the pond ecosystem,
etc.) is contingent upon removing trace
concentrations of pesticides from it. This can
be effectively accomplished by placing a
filtration unit utilizing the lignocellulosic
material as illustrated above.
Point f Discharge
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Acknowledgements

• University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Advanced
  Technology and Manufacturing Center (A.T.M.C.)
  Strategic Envirotechnology Partnership Program
  (S.T.E.P.)
• Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association
• Cranberry Institute, Wareham, Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture
  Agro-Environmental Technology Grant Program
• UMass-Dartmouth Cranberry Research Grant Program
• http//www.cerc.usgs.gov/data/acute/multiselect.as
  p
• Research Assistants Daniel Bourdeau
• Evan Watson