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Assessment of nitrous oxide production in eutrophicated rivers with inflow of treated wastewater based on investigation and statistical analysis

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Abstract

Accurate estimation and control of greenhouse gas emissions have been recognized as imperative in recent years. Therefore, frequent investigations under uniform environmental conditions are required to better understand this concept. Thus, six sampling sites with characteristic concentrations of nitrogen and other water quality parameters were selected to investigate the behavior of water quality parameters throughout the year and to statistically examine the correlations among the parameters. Dissolved nitrous oxide (D-N2O) showed the highest positive correlation coefficient with NO2-N among nitrogen species. The results of the principal component analysis suggested that river water quality could be broadly classified based on photosynthesis and contamination from treated wastewater. Photosynthesis caused an increase in pH, with concomitant decrease in D-N2O concentration. Using the results of multiple regression analysis, D-N2O was accurately estimated based on nitrogen concentration, pH, and concentration of organic matter in various situations. The results of a detailed survey suggested that D-N2O was produced in the river from nitrogen sources released from the wastewater treatment plant. The main roles of the wastewater treatment plant for D-N2O behavior in the river were the supply of the nitrogen source that was the precursor of D-N2O, the supply of the nutrients that induced the photosynthesis, and the direct supply of D-N2O at a low water temperature. The models based on multiple regression analysis could efficiently predict the D-N2O concentration produced in rivers at sites downstream of the wastewater treatment plant, except for the direct supply of D-N2O as an effluent at low water temperature.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to all those who contributed to this work.

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP15K14060.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Environment Group, Center for Environmental Science in Saitama, 914 Kamitanadare, Kazo, 347-0115, Japan

    Iori Mishima, Takashi Kakimoto, Kazuhiro Ikeda & Keiji Watanabe

  2. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura, Saitama, 338-8570, Japan

    Iori Mishima

  3. Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, National Institute of Technology, Akita College, 1-1 Iijima-Bunkyo-cho, Akita, 011-8511, Japan

    Shuhei Masuda

  4. Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aoba, Sendai, 980-8579, Japan

    Chikako Maruo & Osamu Nishimura

Authors
  1. Iori Mishima
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  2. Shuhei Masuda
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  3. Takashi Kakimoto
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  4. Kazuhiro Ikeda
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  5. Keiji Watanabe
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  7. Osamu Nishimura
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Correspondence to Iori Mishima.

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Mishima, I., Masuda, S., Kakimoto, T. et al. Assessment of nitrous oxide production in eutrophicated rivers with inflow of treated wastewater based on investigation and statistical analysis. Environ Monit Assess 193, 93 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-08855-z

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