Analysis of Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst transport in porous media

Abstract

Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan parasite, transmitted through aqueous environments in the form of an oocyst. In this study, a transport model into which sorption, filtration and inactivation mechanisms are incorporated is applied to simulate laboratory column data, and the suitability of a kinetic model to describe the C. parvum oocyst transport and removal in porous media is compared with an equilibrium model. The kinetic model is applied to simulate previous column experimental data and successfully simulates the concentration peak; the late time tailing effect appeared in the breakthrough curves, indicating that the kinetic model is more suitable than the equilibrium one at simulating the fate and transport of the oocysts in porous media. Simulation illustrates that sorption causes retardation along with a tailing in the breakthrough curve. Additionally, filtration acts as a major mechanism of removing the oocysts from the aqueous phase, whereas the role of inactivation in reducing the viable oocyst concentration is minimal. © 2004 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.