Behaviour of Pathogenic Bacteria, Phages and Viruses in Ground Water during Transport and Adsorption

Abstract

In our study we investigated the transport and adsorption behaviour of different pathogenic microorganisms with two sorts of columns filled with quartz sand and aquifer material. These were the simian rotavirus SA 11, E. coli and the coliphages T4, MS2 and ϕX174. At a low filtration rate the breakthrough curves of the microorganisms show a wide distribution over a long period of time. When the filtration rate is increased the curves, sbow a, steep main peak. Only a small percentage of the microorganisms adsorbed to the quartz sand; in contrast, 53% of the SA 11 viruses adsorbed.