Can dissipation profiles from batch experiments describe the actual behavior of organic micropollutants originated from sewage sludge in soils?

The dissipation of seven micropollutants present in anaerobically digested sewage sludge added to three soils was studied. Their dissipation was also investigated under identical conditions using batch tests. Furthermore, the fate of another seven parent compounds and three metabolites in soil-sludge samples, was evaluated. The dissipation profiles for 1-methyl-1H-benzotriazole (half-lives: DT 50 =29–84 and 23–48 days), lamotrigine (DT 50 =39–80 and 63–87 days), venlafaxine (DT 50 =279–500 days and persistent), and partly also for sertraline (DT 50 =35–166 and 193 days), resulted from the batch tests and soil-sludge samples, respectively, were similar. The dissipation of valsartan (DT 50 =2–9 days) and atorvastatin (DT 50 =2–11 days) in batch tests was much faster than in soil-sludge samples (DT 50 =44–166 and DT 50 =146 days, respectively). In contrast, the dissipation of telmisartan in the batch tests (DT 50 =45–466 days) was slower than in soil-sludge samples (DT 50 =24–86 days). The dissipation of carbamazepine (DT 50 =94–183 days) was similar, while that of metoprolol (DT 50 =130–233 days) and citalopram (DT 50 =186–466 days) was slightly slower, and the dissipation of diclofenac (DT 50 =39–86 days) was much slower than could be anticipated based on published half-lives (DT 50 =90–200, 10–239, 87–223, and 1–21 days, respectively). This implies that while batch test results may indicate the behavior of moderately and highly persistent compounds, the persistence of compounds with low half-lives may be significantly underestimated using batch tests. This finding should be considered when assessing the environmental risk arising from the application of these compounds present in wastewater treatment plant products to soil.