Abstract
Four sediment cores (two aerobic cores and two anaerobic ones) consisted of 30cm of undisturbed sediment and 60cm of overlying water collected from two sites within a natural reservoir were designed and the behavior of the spiked 17β-estradiol (E2) and its byproduct E1 in the overlying water phase of all cores operated under batch and continuous flow conditions was investigated. By comparing the E2 levels remaining in the effluent from all columns operated for different hydraulic retention times (HRT), the impact of HRT on the fate and behavior of E2 within the sedimented mud columns was assessed, and the differences in the effluent E2 and E1 levels under aerobic and anaerobic conditions were discussed.
