Development of biofilters to treat the pesticides wastes from spraying applications

Several studies carried out in Europe showed the importance of direct losses to the contamination of surface water by pesticides. These pesticides losses can occur at the farm site when the sprayer equipment is filled with the pesticide formulation (spills, overflowing, leaking) and during the clean-up (rinsing) of the sprayer after the treatment. In Belgium studies are carried out on biofilters to treat in an efficient way effluents containing pesticides. The biofilter substrate is elaborated from a homogenised mixture of local soil, chopped straw and peat or composted material, able to absorb or degrade the active substances. Biofilters consist in systems of 2 or 3 units depending on the spray equipment of the farmer and on the configuration of the farmyard. Each unit is made from a 1 m3 plastic container and the different units are stacked in a vertical pile and connected between them using plastic valves and pipes. Eight pilot systems were installed in March 2002 in seven farms and in one agricultural school, all selected in the loamy region of Belgium specialised in arable crops such as cereals, sugar beets and vegetables. The efficacy (yield) of the systems was determined by measuring the balance of the inputs and outputs of the pesticides. Results were expressed in percent of pesticide retained on the biofilters. The results obtained after two years with 5 tracer pesticides (atrazine, carbofuran, diuron, lenacil and simazine) brought on the biofilter installations are very satisfactory since the percentage of retention is generally higher than 95% of the amount applied. In the beginning of 2004, ten new pilot biofilters were installed in several farms or agricultural technical centres (producing cereals, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables, fruits or ornamental plants), and in a municipal maintenance service. Some biofilters were installed in duplicate in order to compare the efficacy of different substrates. The efficacy of the biofilters was studied for the 5 classical tracer pesticides but also for other chemical classes of herbicides (sulfonylurea, aryloxyalcanoic acids, chloroacetanilides), insecticides (pyrethroids, carbamates) and fungicides (dicarboximides, phenylamides, triazoles and strobilurines). To monitor these pesticides in elutes and substrates, two analytical methods were developed, optimised and validated : the first one by Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry Detection (GC-MS), and the second one by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with UV Diode Array Detection (HPLC-DAD). The micro-organisms activity in the substrate was also measured in some situations.